Something Wicked This Way Comes
by CaitlinNicDhiarmaid
Summary: After Elphaba and Fiyero trick the people of Oz, they flee to the borders. However, just a couple miles short of their goal, they are apprehended. Elphaba, at the last moment, is given a chance to escape, and finds herself in a new world where she meets Harry Potter. In this new world comes new friends, adventures, and danger hormonal teenagers being the least of her worries.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - I saw WICKED for the first time when I studied abroad in Japan. Therefore, I will always see Elphaba and the other WICKED characters with Japanese features and speaking Japanese. In this story, Elphaba looks Asian and speaks Japanese (which is "Ozian") but, there is a translation charm that comes into play later, so English will be spoken (no worries for those of you who can't speak Japanese). In the first few chapters there will be Japanese translations at the bottom of each chapter. I do not own any of the Harry Potter or WICKED characters.**

"Fiyero! No! Don't, PLEASE! FIYERO!"

Elphaba watched in horror as her lover and soul-mate burned before her. Hot tears streaked down her cheeks as she screamed out her grief and fury. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed above the group crowded around her; mirroring her bleeding heart. As rain soaked Elphaba and the furious crowd, the witch-hunters yelled,

"Burn the witch! Burn the WICKED WITCH!" Elphaba felt rough hands lift her from the ground and drag her toward another stake next to the one already burning. Elphaba's grief overtook her again as she bowed her head in defeat. She had no fight left in her; she felt cold embrace her heart as the last ounces of the will to live left her. She stumbled to the ground, was yanked to her feet by her hair, and flung forward to the stake; her execution. The stinging lash of a whip cut into her already raw, stripped back. Elphaba screamed in pain, and climbed to her feet again. Earnest sobs escaped her mouth; barely able to breathe. She could think of nothing except the loss of Fiyero and the impending, excruciating pain of the flames.

As she stumbled again, more stinging lashes along with punches and kicks rained down on her torso and head. Feeling light-headed and nauseous, Elphaba hoped that unconsciousness would take her so she could forget her pain. If she passed out now, she would never wake again, would never have to worry for her life, or remember Fiyero.

Just as she felt herself being lifted again by the men around her, the bonds on her wrists loosened. 'What…' she thought hazily. Looking to her right, she saw a pair of white, glittering shoes; spattered with mud from the storm. Elphaba knew only one person who would wear shoes like those. 'Glinda?' Elphaba lifted her face to see Glinda crying but determinedly holding her right hand tensely as she muttered under breath. Elphaba's bonds fell off her wrists. No one had noticed except the two women.

"RUN!" Glinda yelled over the thundering rain. "RUN, ELPHIE! Get out of here!" Glinda lifted her white wand and pointed at the crowd opposite her and Elphaba. An unseen energy forced the crowd to split in two. Elphaba saw her chance. It was now or never. She pushed her tired, beaten body up and launched herself through the split crowd.

She broke free of the mob as they began to converge on her again. Elphaba felt hands grab at her, but she yanked away and sprinted for the cover of the forest. Grabbing her shredded dress and lifting the skirts, she ran as fast as she could. The rain lessened as Elphaba reached the edge of the forest, but she could hear the witch-hunters running hard on her heels. Hell was chasing her.

New tears of fear raced down her cheeks; her chest burned with the effort of running as her body used energy it didn't have. Pain lanced through her as the undergrowth of the forest cut into her bare feet, and branches of trees and bushes whipped at her face. The trees became thicker; vines and roots slowed her attempt at escape. Elphaba could hear her captors closing in on her. She forced herself faster; not caring about her pain, fear, or grief. Elphaba pushed all of her emotions to the back of her mind, and focused on running.

Elphaba didn't see the cliff right in front of her; the combination of the thick forest and storm made the area as dark as the starless night sky. She ran and ran, and then there was nothing but air under her feet. She fell into the darkness and swirling mists.

Elphaba flung out her arms to catch onto something, anything to stop her descent. 'At this height I will surely die!' she thought frantically. 'I DON'T WANT TO DIE!' she mind screamed. Just as that thought crossed her mind, she crashed into an outcropping rock. Her body folded over the rock only as wide as a man's torso. As the wind rushed out of her lungs, she felt and heard her ribs crack and break as her face snapped forward and slammed into the unyielding rock. Nearly unconscious, Elphaba slipped off the end of the rock and began her descent again. She had no thoughts of death anymore; her mind and body too far gone. As a result, she didn't see the air below her ripple and swirl unnaturally. She fell right into the circle and disappeared from thin air.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry Potter sat on the swing-set at a park close to Number 4 Privet Drive. His mind was blank for once. Constantly, he was haunted by memories of Cedric's death and the impending doom of Voldemort possibly killing him. He felt cut off from everything since his friends decided to abandon him, and he only had the news and the Daily Prophet to keep him up to date. However, even the Ministry didn't believe him when he told them of Voldemort's return last year.  
Harry sighed and looked at his wrist watch. 'Five pm. Better get back and make dinner. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley will be back from shopping soon,' he thought. Harry glumly pulled himself up from his sitting position, stretched, and started toward the exit, but stopped short when he saw an unusual rippling in the air to his right near a stand of trees. Harry immediately pulled out his wand and pointed it at the anomaly. 'Well,' he thought, 'that's not normal.'

Suddenly, the wind picked up and swirled around Harry violently. He covered his face partially to protect his eyes, but kept them riveted on the rippling, swirling, expanding air in front of him. Harry inched closer and closer until he was a few feet from the circle. He could swear he could hear a faint scream above the howling wind. "HELLO!" he yelled, "I can help. Where are you?" Harry peered into the circle but only saw darkness. Then he felt raindrops slam into him from the circle; still Harry held his ground; intent on helping the person he was sure he could hear in the darkness. He stepped closer to the circle; just as he was about to prod the rippling mass with his wand, a shape appeared just inside. At first it was the size of his fist, but rapidly grew and took shape. Before Harry had the chance to make out what the form was, the dark shape flew out of the circle and slammed into Harry.

Harry was flung to the ground by a wet, black bundle. He and the unidentified mass fell to the ground in a heap. Harry lay on the ground and caught his breath and watched from under the dark form as the circle disappeared into nothingness. Once he got his bearings back, Harry took in the object lying atop his body. 'What….' Harry's thoughts were cut off abruptly when a muffled groan came from… the person on top of him.

Harry stared dumbfounded for a minute, then, "Hey, are…are you okay? Hello? Can you hear me? Are you hurt?" Harry reached out, wrapped his arms around the person, and rolled over slowly, so as to place the person on the ground. Once Harry was on top of the person, he sat back slowly. Harry stared at the person covered in black clothes and green skin.

'Wait, green skin; that can't be right.' Harry reached out and moved long black locks away from the person's… woman's face. Harry gasped at what he saw and yanked his hand away from the girl. She was green, and not a sick-like green, but really green. As Harry stared in shock for the umpteenth time within the last ten minutes, another pained groan escaped the woman's lips and a grimace graced her green Asian-looking face. Harry snapped out of his reverie and focused on the rest of her body.

The woman's clothes were shredded and her body, what he could see of her body, was beaten and bloody. "What happened to you?" asked Harry under his breath. At that moment, the women coughed weakly and her eyes cracked open. Her eyes were red and puffy from swelling bruises and what looked like extensive crying. Harry stared in open fascination as she took in her surroundings and finally took in Harry kneeling over her.

Elphaba heard a faint voice say something. Her mind was fuzzy; she had a hard time thinking straight. The only thing she could think of clearly was her horrible predicament of falling to her death, but she didn't feel the rush one felt when falling. Instead she felt like she was lying on a flat surface. She figured it was safe to open her eyes, no matter how hard a task that might be.

She willed her eyes to open just a crack and saw gray clouds above her. It wasn't raining, but it would soon. She didn't hear the angry yells of the hunters, just the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. She looked to her sides; nothing on her left. Then she looked to her right and saw a boy with messy, black hair, a peculiar scar on his forehead, and shockingly, bright green eyes that were framed by round-rimmed glasses.

She stared at the boy for all of three seconds before her instincts of escape kicked in. Elphaba sat up and backed away swiftly. At the same time, she lifted her right hand and forced the boy away from her. The boy flew away from her a couple of feet before he hit the ground and tumbled a few more feet and came to a stop. Elphaba climbed to her feet slowly and faced the young man who was also, and much more quickly, getting to his feet. Just as Elphaba straightened to her full height, she was reminded unpleasantly of her broken ribs. Pain raced through her bones and skin as her ribs cracked and her raw, stripped skin stretched. Tears pricked her eyes as the pain brought memories flooding into the front of her mind. She collapsed to her knees overcome by grief and pain.

Harry tensed as the woman's eyes widened and she suddenly sat up. He didn't expect the invisible force that flung him backwards. The wind was knocked out of his lungs as Harry landed a few feet away from the emerald woman. As soon as Harry got over his surprise of being the recipient of wandless magic, he jumped to his feet ready for anything. What he saw next made him forget his boiling temper. The woman was climbing to her feet slowly, but never taking her haunted eyes away from him. While she stood, her clothes fell normally around her, and what he saw made him want to gag. Her clothes were in tatters. Around her torso the rips were long and thinner; they looked to be made by a whip. The cuts that Harry could see through the rips only confirmed his suspicions. Harry felt uneasiness grip his heart, and his stomach start fluttering.

Harry watched aghast as the woman stood to her full height seemingly ready to defend herself, but just as quickly she doubled over and grimaced in pain. Whether that pain was more from physical or mental pain, Harry couldn't tell. As she fell to her knees, Harry raced to her side. He stopped next her, and deliberated what to do. In that instant, he heard her say something. Harry knelt next to her and heard her whisper in a broken voice,

"Fiyero," she took a short, sobbing breath, "Fiyero…." The woman started crying in earnest. Harry gently and uncertainly put his hand on her shoulder. She flinched at his touch, but was too far gone in her grief to do much more. Harry was at a loss. What or who was Fiyero? The way she said that word; Harry thought perhaps that it was the name of someone she seemed to be grieving for.

"I'm sorry." He started to say uncertainly. "I know what it is like to lose someone you care for." Harry's voice seemed to break into her overwhelmed senses somewhat, because she paused in her crying. After a few seconds, she raised her face (Harry still was surprised at its vibrant color) to his. She took a short breath,

"Nani?" She said in a faint, shaky voice. She spoke in a language that Harry couldn't understand, but he didn't have time to ponder that because the rain finally let loose from the gray storm clouds.

Harry whipped up his face to look at the heavens above him and whispered, "Could things get any worse?" Harry quickly wiped that thought from mind. Of course it could get worse; Voldemort and his followers could show up at any moment and kill him and this woman, an innocent bystander. Harry took out his wand and looked back at the woman who was now studying him with dark brown eyes. "Can you stand? We need to get out of the rain. I live close to here; you can come with me." She only stared at him in weary confusion and pain. Harry gently grabbed her by the elbow and pulled a little to show her what he intended. The woman seemed to understand and attempted to stand. She got off her knees and almost fell to the ground again, but Harry got his arms around her before she could fall. Grabbing her right hand, Harry stretched her arm across the back of his neck. Then he placed his left arm around her waist. He had his wand in his right hand in case he had to defend them both.

The woman gasped in pain as her right side stretched when Harry put her arm across his neck, and his left arm brushed the cuts on her back. "Itaii…" Harry heard her hiss through her teeth.

"I know. I'm sorry; it won't last long. I don't live far." Harry comforted her. She only nodded and started walking when Harry did. Their walk was slow and punctuated often with rests. Harry noticed that she was having difficulty breathing. He felt terrible; he couldn't use his magic to lift her. Instead, she had to walk, he could try carrying her, but he wasn't so sure how hurt she really was. 'I could at least try carrying her. She doesn't seem that heavy. And, if it's too painful for her, I will just put her down.' Harry stopped and looked at the woman. Her eyes were closed, her breaths short and sharp, and her face was creased in pain. "Uh, hey," Harry waited for her to look at him, "I can try carrying you if it would be easier for you."

Elphaba stared at the boy who was helping her. He had just said something else in that strange language of his. Didn't he understand she couldn't understand him?

"What?" she asked in her own language again. The boy looked at her for a few more seconds; then seemed to come to a decision in his mind. Elphaba hoped he didn't just decide to leave her here. She wouldn't be too surprised though, plenty others had left her when they saw her skin. She was surprised the boy had stayed next to her, had touched her, for this long.

Elphaba tensed as his grip loosened around her waist and he let her arm fall from his neck. 'Here it comes.' She thought, 'He is going to just walk off.' But, she was surprised even more when the boy turned to face her side. Then he placed his right arm just under her shoulder blades and bent little. When he straightened again, Elphaba was lifted bridal-style into his arms. Elphaba cried out at the pain that came from his arm brushing roughly against her back. Then her ribs cracked and popped as she was bent into position. Her free hand flew to her side as she grimaced in pain.

"Itsuu ookei," the boy's voice sounded above her, "uii aru orumosuto tsueru. Ai ribu jiasuto tsueru." Elphaba looked up at the boy and saw him nod in a direction in front of her. She looked at where he had gestured and saw a house down the street.

'We must be almost there, then. Thank… NO, I won't think about that man or place anymore. This is my home now; where I will live…wherever here is.' The boy carried Elphaba the rest of the way to the house, but stopped before they got to the door.

"Oo noo." Elphaba heard the boy sigh. She didn't know what he said, but he certainly didn't sound happy to be home. He sounded like he would rather stand out in the rain holding her for the rest of time. Elphaba looked at the house. She saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was a nice house with a well tended garden and lawn; some odd contraptions that looked like fancy carriages next to it, but other than that, relatively normal.

"What is it, danshi," she asked him. She felt bad for calling him 'boy,' but she didn't know his name.

Harry heard her ask him something with that word 'nani.' 'Perhaps 'nani' means _what_ or something like that.' He thought to himself. Looking down at the woman in his arms, he smiled encouragingly. "It's okay. I'll take care of you. I won't let anything happen to you." He knew she couldn't understand him, but he hoped she could catch the sincerity in his voice. Then, Harry squared his shoulders and marched up to the front door. However, he stopped at the door and looked at the doorknob. 'How am I going to open it?' He thought, 'I don't want to put her down…' Harry's brooding was cut short when said woman waved her hand in the direction of the doorknob.

At first, nothing happened. Then, the doorknob turned and the door swung open a couple of centimeters. Harry gasped and looked down at the woman in his arms incredulously. Wandless magic was extremely hard to master, but she wielded it as if it were second nature. The woman was studying him again. Her eyes were searching his; then she seemed to realize the source of his delight and looked at the door and back to him. She smiled a very small smile. It was a pretty smile if Harry did think so himself. But, he didn't have long to contemplate that smile, because the door opened fully to reveal his whale of a cousin.

Dudley's eyes were filled with annoyance. "I don't see why you even bother coming back, Potter. What good are you if you aren't going to do what you're told?" He said scornfully. "Father is in a right state; I can't wait to see how you fair. Please," Dudley said in a sickly sweet voice, "do come in." At that moment, Dudley finally noticed who Harry was holding. Dudley stared in shock. His face went white; then grey and his eyes began to roll back into his head.

"Dudley," Harry said sharply, "weren't you going to show me to Uncle Vernon?" Harry attempted to distract his cousin enough so he wouldn't faint. He didn't want to be blamed for that on top of not being home to make dinner. Dudley snapped back into reality.

"What the hell is that, Potter!" Dudley backed away quickly as Harry walked into the house. "Sure it is your kind, but I thought you freaks at least had your limits.

"Shut up, Dudley. She's been through a lot. Just leave us alone." Harry shot back. He hated how anything out of the ordinary was immediately scorned and repelled in this house. He had had just about enough of it.

"POTTER! Where have you been, you worthless waste of space!" Vernon Dursley stomped into the hallway where the two boys were arguing. "Dinner was supposed to be on the table when we got back, and what did we find? An empty house, that's what." Mr. Dursley's face was inches away from Harry's. He didn't even seem to notice Elphaba, who was becoming more and more furious as the yelling went on.

Elphaba was appalled to find that her savior, a perfectly kind young man, was being forced to live in this wretched place. Elpahba wanted so much to get this man away from the boy, but she didn't have any strength left. She doubted she could find the energy to open another door, much less force this man away with her magic. Elphaba just started to think of other ways to get the man away when a resounding slap echoed in the hall, and both the boy and she lurched to the right. The boy was able to find his balance quickly, but he was still a little off balance, so he wasn't able to dodge another blow.

This time the boy fell to his knees, but he kept her secure to his chest. The man was behind her and the boy now. Elphaba saw the man lift his foot for a kick.

"YAMETE!" she screamed. It worked; the man stopped and stared at her. She found it absolutely amazing that he hadn't noticed her before this. "Naguranai!" She stared at the man with what she hoped was a murderous look.

"Potaa… huu za heiru izu zachu?" the man asked in voice that chilled Elphaba's blood. She couldn't understand him, but she knew that tone. It was dangerous. They needed to get out of here.

"Danshi," she whispered fiercely to the boy, "nokoshiyou yo. Koko de wa abunai da. Nokoshiyou." She hated that her voice shook slightly. She was reminded terribly of her own father when she looked at this man.

Harry heard the woman whispering to him; he could hear the fear in her voice. He knew then that bringing her here was a bad idea. Harry wasn't sure why he thought to bring her here in the first place. 'It is about time we leave, I think.' He thought to himself.

Harry stood up as quickly as he could to prove he wasn't hurt; ignoring the hiss of pain coming from the woman in his arms. "Well, Uncle," Harry sneered, "obviously I am not welcome and I am, and have been, a burden to you and your family; I think it is about time I leave. Don't worry, you won't be hearing from me again. Just give me five minutes to get my stuff, and we'll leave." Harry stared into his Uncle's face full of hatred.

"Fine," Mr. Dursley relented, "fine. Get your scrawny butt out of my house and take your freak of nature friend with you." Mr. Dursley and Dudley walked off to the kitchen without a second glance. Harry stood in the hall; realizing what he had just done. Where would they go now? He wasn't old enough to live alone, and he couldn't barge into someone else's house. Harry bit his lip as he thought about his options.

He looked down at the woman in his arms. She was holding her side again; her eyes were closed, and she kept shifting in his arms as if she wasn't comfortable. 'Of course, she's not comfortable,' he berated himself; 'She's been flogged for Merlin's sake.' Harry turned on his heel and walked up the stairs to his room.

Harry set her down on his bed gently. Once he was sure she was comfortable he dragged out his trunk and began throwing things into it. His clothes, books, and other various items were all thrown haphazardly into the trunk.

Elphaba watched him in open fascination as he pulled things out from under his floor. He pulled out books with odd symbols on them, pieces of paper that looked like letters, and a BROOM. It all went into the trunk. Then she heard a small 'clank' from the other side of the room; next to the window. There was a snowy, white owl sitting in a cage watching her and its master curiously. Harry noticed Elphaba's stare and walked over to the cage. He unclasped the lock and brought Hedwig out on his arm. Then he walked slowly over to the woman.

"This is Hedwig." When she didn't seem to understand, he started petting Hedwig and pronounced her name again. "Hedwig…Hed…wig."

The woman reached out and touched the owl gently. "Hei…do…uigu. Heidouigu." She smiled as Hedwig nibbled her finger gently. Then she looked at Harry. She pointed to herself and said, "Erufaba. E..ru..fa..ba."

"Elphaba," Harry pronounced slowly. She smiled encouragingly at him. Harry gestured to himself. "Harry." He held out his hand to shake hers.

Elphaba looked at his hand questioningly at first, but slowly raised her hand to his and took it. "Harii-san. Yoroshiku." Harry smiled and went back to his packing. Once he was done, he had another thought. He looked at Elphaba and took in her tattered clothes.

'The dress is fine, if not a little strange looking…what am I thinking? Harry, you are a wizard. But, it does have an awful lot of holes in it.' Harry noticed Elphaba was shifting under his scrutiny; she probably didn't like being stared at. 'Neither do I.' Harry walked over to his dresser, opened the bottom drawer, and pulled out some of his old clothes from Dudley. He hoped they fit her. 'If she is even willing to put them on. I wouldn't blame her if she refuses.'

Harry walked over to Elphaba and held out the jeans and sweatshirt. She looked at them closely. 'Does he want me to put those on?' Elphaba thought. 'What is wrong with my dress?' She looked down at her own clothes and realization dawned on her. 'I look like I just escaped from Southstairs Prison in Oz, or escaped a witch-hunt.' Elphaba sighed and took the clothes Harry was holding out to her. She went to stand when her ribs protested again. She hissed in pain and sat back down. 'Well, either I get help, or I go in my shredded dress. Which would I prefer?' She looked at the clothes in her hands, her own clothes, at Harry, and then back at the clothes in her hand. 'I don't like any of my options.' She could just hear college-girl Glinda in her head.

"_Get Harry to help you. He is a good-looking young man."_

"He's too young; he is like….twelve. No, he was able to carry me. Fine fifteen or sixteen…at the most. And I'm…"

"_You're not that old."_

"Oh, and you are the ever young, shockingly bright G-a-linda the Good." Elphaba shot back sarcastically at the voice in her head. Glinda smiled her annoyingly cheerful smile at Elphaba.

"_Thank you, I try."_

Elphaba sighed and dropped her head to her chest. She guessed it was no use trying to extricate Glinda from her head; the woman lived to annoy and cheer her at the most inopportune times. Elphaba looked at Harry again.

"Tasukete kudasai." She said dejectedly.

"Huh?" Harry felt very stupid at the moment. What he wouldn't give for a translation charm right now.

"Tasukete kudasai." Elphaba held out the clothes to him while pointing to herself with her free hand.

"Um, you want me to help you? Is that what you are saying?" Harry hesitantly took the clothes from Elphaba as she tried to stand again.

She only got a few inches off the bed when he heard her ribs crack. She pitched forward suddenly; Harry only had seconds to drop the clothes and catch her before she did a face-plant onto his floor. He got his arms under her and laid her gently on the floor. In the process he saw a small zipper in the back of Elphaba's dress, and reached for it.

'Harry, if you start this, you can't stop.' He told himself. 'It would only make it more awkward if you stopped because you were too embarrassed. ….No one and I mean no one is going to hear about this. I would never hear the end of it.' Harry grabbed the zipper gently and started to unzip the dress. Elphaba tensed under him, but he kept going.

He got to the end of the zipper and breathed a sigh of relief. 'Good, neither of us has died of embarrassment… yet. Thank Merlin the zipper only goes down to her lower back.' Harry pulled the back of the dress to her shoulders as he helped her sit up on her knees. Her long black hair obscured his view of her back, so he didn't see the multitude of lashes stretching across her back. Elphaba leaned forward and put her weight on his shoulder, her ribs were becoming a constant excruciating pain.

Harry thought about what he needed to do next. It was quite simple really; just pull the dress forward off her chest, get her arms out of the sleeves, and pull the dress down her hips to her feet so she could step out.

'Yeah, REAL easy.' Harry gulped at the thought. He needed to cover her somehow. He looked around his room and spotted his bed sheets. "Uh, wait a moment." He lifted Elphaba off his shoulder and helped position her so she was kneeling and holding herself up with her arms. Then, Harry stood and yanked the sheet off his bed. When he turned back to Elphaba, he got a full view of her back. He felt the blood drain out of his face and his hands start to shake. The wounds looked worse now that her dress wasn't covering them, he could also see that she had been slightly malnourished since her ribs were visible.

Harry took a steadying breath and threw the sheet across her back and over her shoulders to cover her a bit more. Then he kneeled in front of Elphaba again and reached for the dress at her shoulders, which was now covered by the sheet.

Elphaba felt the sheet lay across her back and come forward to cover her chest. 'Oh good, I see he thought of my mental well-being, and most likely his own as well. I didn't want him to see anything either.'

"_Spoiled sport."_ Glinda's voice sounded in her head.

'Shut up.' She thought tiredly.

Elphaba's breath caught in her throat as her chest was fully exposed to the air under the cover of the sheet. She was mortified. 'No one will ever know about this.' She thought fiercely.

"_I will." Glinda said with absolutely no regret in her voice as she reclined in a chair._

Elphaba sighed; she would never see her annoyingly perky friend again. Harry had pulled the dress down to her waist and seemed to be trying to figure out what to do next. In her current position, Elphaba knew that the sheet wouldn't cover her completely, if he decided to take the dress off now.

"Harii-san. Shatsu o kudasai." Elphaba gestured to the shirt lying next to them on the floor. "Shatsu." Harry understood and reached for the sweatshirt. He helped her put the shirt on over the sheet and pulled it down to her waist. Then, he tugged the sheet out from under the shirt and pulled Elphaba to her feet.

Harry wrapped the sheet around her waist, had Elphaba hold the sheet in place with one hand while she held onto him for support with the other. Then he reached up under the sheet and pulled the dress down to her ankles. Next, as quickly as he could, Harry stood back up, helped Elphaba step out of the dress, kneeled back down and helped her step into the jeans he had picked out for her. Once he had pulled the pants up to her waist, he took the sheet away and buttoned and zipped the jeans hastily. Only when she was completely dressed and standing in front of him with his arms holding hers for support, did he allow himself to breath properly.

"Well," he said; his voice cracked a little, "let's not do that again anytime soon… or ever again for that matter." Elphaba merely smiled at his tone. He was obviously just as embarrassed as she was. After looping a length of rope through the belt loops as a makeshift belt and slipping socks onto her feet, Harry helped her sit down, and held up his hands in a 'wait' gesture. Then he picked up her dress, put it in his trunk, and heaved it out into the hall and down the stairs. After a few minutes, he came back up with a piece of paper in his hand, took Hedwig out of her cage, and carried her to the open window. "Hedwig, take this to the Leaky Cauldron in London and give it to Tom the bartender. And, stay there until we arrive." Harry attached the letter to Hedwig's leg and let her fly into the dark sky; much to Elphaba's amusement. Once her white color had blended into the stars, he turned to Elphaba.

"Well, let's get downstairs. The Dursleys are over the moon about me leaving. They were even kind enough to throw my stuff outside the door." Harry pulled Elphaba to his side and they walked together down the stairs. The walk was rather slow because of her injuries, but they eventually got down the stairs.

"Took you long enough," Mr. Dursley raged by time they got to the front door. "How long does it take a girl to change…"

"She's hurt…" Harry started to defend her.

"I don't give a damn. Just leave!"

"Leaving!" Harry shot back. They, much to Harry's delight, took as much time as they needed getting out the door, and the Dursleys didn't dare move them any faster. Must be they were more frightened by Elphaba's glare than he had thought before. He had seen it, and he NEVER wanted to be on the receiving end of that glare. Now, if Voldemort got that glare; he might actually melt. 'Ah, not a bad thought.' Harry grinned to himself while he pictured Voldemort melting. As soon as they were centimeters out the door, it slammed shut behind them. Harry felt the full weight of his decision right then. 'We need to get to the Leaky Cauldron quickly. We don't want any Deatheaters to find out I am without protection and attack us.'

Japanese translations:

(Elphaba) Nani – What?

Itaii – a phrase muttered when one is feeling pain. Japanese version of Ouch!

(Harry) Itsuu ookei, uii aru orumosuto tsueru. Ai ribu jiasuto tsueru. – It's ok, we are almost there. I live just there.

(Elphaba) danshi – boy

Yamete – Stop!

Naguranai – Don't hit!

(Dursley) Huu za heiru izu zachu? – Who the hell is that?

Nokoshiyou yo. Koko de wa abunai da. Nokoshiyou. – Let's leave. It isn't safe here.

Yoroshiku – Nice to meet you

Tasukete kudasai – Please help me

Shatsu o kudasai. – Give me the shirt

Shatsu – shirt


	3. Chapter 3

Before Harry and Elphaba even got to the end of the driveway, Harry had thought about the Knight Bus, and it appeared around the corner. Elphaba stared at the huge contraption with people IN it.

"Sugoi…" he heard her whisper. The note of awe in her voice was all he needed to understand.

"You may think it is 'sugoee' right now, but you'll hate it by time we get to London." Harry informed her.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, lovely evening," Stan Shunpike said as the bus rolled to a stop in front of them. "Where are ya headed?"  
"London, the Leaky Cauldron."

"Same as last time….Who's your shy friend?" Stan tried to peak at the woman who was currently ducking her head. Elphaba had pulled the sleeves of the sweatshirt over her hands, and covered her head with the hood.

"She's just a friend. She isn't feeling too well, so could you try to take it easy around the corners."

"Sure, sure, but I can't make any promises, schedules to keep and all. …She does look a bit peaky, now that you mention it." Stan saw the green color of her face, but luckily it was dark enough that he couldn't tell it was her real skin color. Harry helped Elphaba onto the bus and set her down on one of the beds. He could hear her harsh breathing start up, and saw beads of sweat form on her face. She would need a doctor very soon. Harry hoped he could get someone to help her while at the Leaky Cauldron.

'Tap, tap.' "Take it away, Ern." Harry had just enough time to wrap his arms around Elphaba as the bus lurched forward at an alarming speed. Both Harry and Elphaba were forced back in their sitting positions, causing Elphaba to gasp in pain. Harry got them back into a relatively comfortable position, but realized that Elphaba was very close to passing out.

"Seriously, Stan. Please take it easy." Harry appealed, "She's about ready to pass out. If she faints, I will be forced to sue the company."

"Aww, Harry that case would never hold up in court. And anyway, it's your own fault for bringing her on in the first place." Stan said good-naturedly. He knew Harry wasn't serious about the threat. Harry wasn't so sure if he was serious or not. However, he didn't have the time to think about that; he looked back at Elphaba and noticed she was barely breathing. Her breathing was short, small intakes of air and gasping them back out unevenly.

"Elphaba, you need to breathe properly." Harry said to her urgently.

"Harii…tasuke…te…" Her arms were wrapped tightly around her torso. Harry guessed that she was trying to hold her ribs where they were. He imagined that the broken and cracked ribs were pressing on her organs painfully. And, with every jarring bump of the bus, her arms tensed further, and her eyes clenched tighter. He could see tears forming at the corners of her eyes; soon they would be spilling down her cheeks.

Elphaba was proud to know she had a rather high tolerance for pain, but even she knew she was going to reach her limit soon. She felt like her ribs were going to poke through her skin at any moment. She could feel her them grinding against one another; could feel them poking from behind her skin. At the next bump, she and everyone else rose a few inches from their seats. Before she even hit the seat again, she knew this would be it. Even though Harry had his arms around her in a death grip to keep her steady, he couldn't prevent this.

As she hit the seat again, pain lanced through her body; starting in her core and reaching down into her feet and up to her head. It was too much. She nearly screamed at the pain, but clamped her mouth shut before she could utter a sound. Instead, she moaned as tears streaked down her face, and she stopped breathing completely. She held her breath; and a tiny amount of the pain stopped.

Harry noticed she had stopped breathing after she let out a quiet moan. She was still conscious at the moment, but he knew that wouldn't last long.

"Stan," Harry waved the conductor over frantically, "Stan, she needs a doctor now. Please, tell me there is a doctor, or nurse, or someone on the bus who can help her." Stan kneeled down so he could look at Elphaba's face.

"Harry, she's green." Stan stated the obvious.

"Stan! She needs a doctor now."

"She's green." Stan was still staring in awe at Elphaba's skin; he even started to reach out and touch it to see if it was real.

"Hey!" Harry gave Stan a small kick in the shin. "She needs a doctor NOW! Her ribs are broken, or cracked, I am not sure which. But, she needs help now." Stan looked between Harry and Elphaba, and stood up. He walked to the front of the bus and picked up what looked like a microphone of some sort.

"Listen up," Stan's voice came out over the speaker, "is anyone here a doctor, nurse, or studying the medical field in any way?" No one said anything. "Okay, how about studying it for fun, and is able to help someone who is rather hurt?" Still no one said anything. Stan stood at the front and waited a few more minutes. When it was apparent that no one would come forward, he walked back to Harry.

"Sorry, Harry." Stan looked pale. "No one here can help. I am… truly sorry." Harry was sure he looked like the lost and helpless fifteen-year old that he was at that moment. Stan stood back up slowly and walked to the front again. He stood for a few minutes and glanced at the two young people a few seats back. He saw Harry whisper something frantically to the girl and watched as she gulped in a breath of air, exhaled quickly, and resumed holding her breath.

Stan grabbed the mike again, "Seriously, is there anyone here who can help. No one is even a parent who is used to healing their kid's scrapes? No Potions expert who has a potion to dull pain temporarily?" Stan stared at the other passengers hopefully. Still no one moved.

Harry heard Stan's plea, but didn't have any hope that someone would come forward now. He leaned in to make sure Elphaba was still conscious, and asked her to breathe again. She was getting worse every second.

"What do you need?" asked a familiar voice at the back of the bus. Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to cry for joy or from mortification. Stan walked to the back of the bus and told the person about Elphaba in hushed tones. The next thing Harry knew, Professor Severus Snape was kneeling in front of them. He glanced at Harry, "We will have words later, Potter."

"Of course, sir," Harry said with as much respect as he could muster. "I'm so happy you are here, sir."

"I am sure that is a first." Snape looked at Elphaba, he didn't even seem to ponder Elphaba's appearance. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I think she hurt her ribs somehow and she's having difficulty breathing."

"Hmm. Young lady…"

"She doesn't speak English, sir." Snape looked at Harry with a less than approving look.

"Exactly when did you meet this girl, Potter?" Snape asked in an exasperated tone. Harry could tell he was thinking of the many times Harry got himself into potentially fatal situations. Harry ignored the tone and looked at his wrist watch.

"About… three hours ago." Harry answered as he glanced up to see his professor's reaction. Snape looked like he was trying to decide whether to slap Harry upside the head or physically shake some sense into him. Harry was about to defend himself by saying most of the situations he got involved in were usually out of his control, but he stopped when he heard Elphaba whimper next to him. "Sir, I'm all for jumping down each other's throats later, but can you please just help her?"

Without another word, Snape whipped a small box out of his robes and opened the lid. It was filled with small vials with different colored potions. Then Snape pulled out his wand and pointed it at Elphaba.

"Potter, let go of her so I can do an accurate reading of her physical condition."

"You can do that?"

"Considering the fact that Potions deals with the human body, it would be beneficial to have a great deal of knowledge about the body and how to help it when the need arises. If I wasn't a Potion's Master and teacher, I could be a Healer," Snape explained in a tone that said, 'You should already know this, you dimwit.'

"Oh."

"Indeed. Now, let go of her." Harry let go of Elphaba hesitantly, but gave her an encouraging smile when she glanced at him. Snape raised his wand and muttered a spell similar to what Madame Pomfrey would utter. Immediately, a paper appeared next to Snape and writing filled the paper. Once the writing stopped, Snape grabbed the paper and read through it. "What in Merlin's name happened to you, child?" Harry heard Snape whisper in a soft voice. Harry wanted to see what was written on the paper, but Snape put it in his pocket before Harry had the chance to see it. Harry opened his mouth to protest.

"She has a right to her privacy, Harry." Snape said in voice Harry was sure he never thought he would hear. He sounded sad and tired. "Young lady…"

"Elphaba," Harry corrected.

"Elphaba." Snape said in the same soft voice as he tapped her knee gently.

Elphaba glanced at the man kneeling in front of her. He had a strict countenance about his face, but at the moment, he didn't seem to be a threat. The man gave her a small smile when she looked at him. He held up a glass vial with a bright blue liquid inside it, and held it out to her. He said something in his language and gestured to her ribs. When she didn't take the vial, he pretended to drink the liquid and held the vial out to her again.

She glanced at Harry and saw that he was nodding; he wanted her to drink the liquid too. 'Well, if he trusts this man…' Elphaba reached out for the vial. Her hand was shaking from exhaustion and pain, but her mind was blank. 'I'm probably going into shock,' she thought dazedly.

When she had a relatively good grip on the vial, the man took the stopper out and nudged her hand toward her face. Elphaba looked at both of the men watching her, and drained the liquid. The liquid didn't taste good. It wasn't terribly unpleasant like some medicines she had taken in her childhood, but it wasn't juice either.

At first, nothing happened. But after a few seconds, Elphaba felt the pain lancing through her body ebb into a dull ache. She was able to sit up a little straighter, and could breathe a bit more freely. However, she could still feel her ribs grinding against each other, and the cuts on her body stinging from her movements. She took hold of Harry again when the vehicle took another sharp turn and a broken rib poked from inside her torso.

Elphaba clutched at her side. She felt as if she had just been stabbed by a knife. Her breathing became quick and ragged again. "Please make it stop. I don't want to feel pain anymore. Someone just kill me." Tears welled up in her eyes as the pain increased. The pain brought back the memories she was trying desperately to forget. Fiyero's agonized screams as he burned echoed through her head. Behind closed eyes, Elphaba saw the fire licking at his clothes and straw body. At the thought, she couldn't hold back a slight sob. She could faintly hear Harry whispering frantically, and could feel hands feeling her side. "Fiyero…" she whispered faintly. She could feel her heart breaking. The pain and grief that she had holed up inside of her until now overwhelmed her senses. It was just too much for her to handle. Her mind went completely blank except for Fiyero's screams, and slipped into unconsciousness.

Snape cursed quietly as Elphaba clutched at her side and her pain increased at an alarming rate. Harry was whispering incessantly to her and to him, but it was nearly incoherent. So, Snape ignored Harry and felt where Elphaba was holding her side. When she wouldn't let go he tried removing her hands, but she was remarkably strong. He heard her whisper something, and caught her as she went limb.

"Elphaba?" Harry's voice was panicked.

"Shut up, Potter. We are trying to be inconspicuous here." Snape lifted Elphaba's shirt so he could see her side. "Not good. SHUNPIKE!"

"What's wrong!?" Harry asked hysterically. He sounded exactly like Hermione at that moment. Snape would have laughed if the situation wasn't so dire.

"Yes, Professor?" Stan was beside them in seconds.

"How much longer until we get to the Leaky Cauldron?" Snape asked as he put pressure on Elphaba's new wound.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked again.

"About two minutes." Stan answered.

"Good. Shrink Potter's luggage and give it to him."

"Yes, sir."

"What is WRONG!?" Harry asked forcefully.

"One of her broken ribs just punctured her skin; I can fix it, but I need her to be on a flat, still surface. We need to work quickly." Both of them felt the bus stop abruptly, signaling their arrival.

"What do we do?" Harry asked as he stood to allow Snape more room. Snape scooped Elphaba into his arms and carried her off the bus swiftly.

"Go inside and grab your room-key. The bar is usually very crowded at this time, so we have the advantage of going unnoticed. Just go to the bar and ask Tom for the key. I will come in right behind you and head for the stairs."

"Sir, you are forgetting something."

"What, Potter!?"

"I am Harry Potter. I can't go anywhere without being noticed."

"Well, try to be as subtle as possible and go get that key. Trust me, Potter."

Harry hesitated, "Right." He sprinted to the door, but pulled it open quite casually. He weaved through the crowd of drunk and almost drunk patrons, and leaned on the bar when he came to it. Tom saw him, silently handed him a key with a number on it, and turned back to the patrons. Harry took off toward the stairs; keeping his eyes on the floor. He got to the stairs and saw that Snape was already there.

"Got it," Harry said when he came upon the two of them.

"Congratulations, you made it through a throng of people without them noticing the famous Harry Potter. What is the number?"

"Three Fifty-Eight. Let's go," Harry led the way to the room and opened the door wide for Snape to get through with Elphaba. Snape walked over to the bed and laid Elphaba down on the bed gently.

"Potter, go to the bathroom and get a cold bowl of water and a cloth. Also… Wait, come here." Harry walked over to the professor he never truly trusted without hesitation. He would ponder his actions later, when he had time. "Best to make sure no one notices you." Snape waved his wand at Harry, but he didn't feel anything. When Snape was seemingly done, he nodded, "Now, go get the water."

"What did you…"

"Ask questions later, please." Snape turned back to Elphaba and started muttering spells and waving his wand. Harry went to the bathroom, found a bowl and cloth, and brought both back with the water in tow. "Thank you," said Snape when Harry had set the bowl down on the bedside table. "Now, go downstairs and see if Tom has some bandages."

"Okay," Harry wondered briefly about his being noticed, but was relieved of that worry when he saw himself in a mirror on the wall. He had dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, a dusting of freckles, relatively pale skin, and no scar. Everything else was the same. His hair style was the same, his facial structure, he even had his round-rimmed glasses, but he looked nothing like himself. "Wow…"

"When you are finished being vain. Could you please go get the bandages?" Snape said scoffed.

"Sorry." Harry jogged out the door and went downstairs. No one even glanced at him when he came to the counter again.

"Problem, son?" asked Tom.

"Do you have any bandages?" Harry realized his voice was still the same.

"Sure do." Tom reached behind the counter and handed Harry some clean, white bandages. "Is the damage serious?"

"Uh, no, just a little scrape and bump, is all." Harry answered. Tom just shrugged and walked off. Harry came back up to the room and saw that Snape had taken the time to remove Elphaba's shirt and cover her chest with a blanket. But, her torso was bear. Under her skin, the ribs looked deformed and the lashes across her torso looked like they were starting to get infected. However, the worst of the damage was the rib now poking an inch out of her right side.

"Just so you don't think the worst of me, Potter. Not that you don't already, but I did not _look_, if that is what you were wondering." Snape said dryly from the bed.

"No, Sir. I was just taking in the damage." Harry answered quickly. Snape said nothing; just waved him over.

"Potter, I want you to keep her forehead cool with the cloth and water that you brought from the bathroom. Also, if she starts to writhe in her sleep, keep her still. If she starts to wake up, let me know so I can give her a light potion to put her back to sleep."

"She hasn't already taken a Dreamless Sleep Potion?" Harry asked once Snape had finished.

"No, if for some reason she stops breathing or her heart stops, I need her to be able to wake back up. If I give her a Dreamless Sleep Potion, she won't wake up no matter what we do. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand. …Will it hurt her, whatever you are going to do?" Harry asked. Snape looked at him without blinking.

"Yes, it will hurt. I am going to fix her ribs and push this one back in. The bones will be rubbing against each other, her organs, and her skin. This is why she needs to keep still. If she moves, there is a chance that her organs could be pierced or another rib will come through her skin. This is also why you need to keep an eye on her."

"Okay," Harry gulped and turned to his work of keeping Elphaba's forehead cool. Snape bent over Elphaba's torso and started muttering spells. Harry had no idea what he was saying, but he watched in horrified fascination as Elphaba's ribs began moving and righting themselves under her skin. Elphaba immediately started moving in her sleep to try to alleviate the pain. Harry held her shoulders with one arm and laid his other arm just below her chest plate, but he couldn't stop her hips from moving. What could he do?

Noticing Harry's problem, Snape reached out to Elphaba's forehead, and laid his hand on her forehead. "Shhh, hush now. Everything will be fine." He said in a smooth, quiet voice. Elphaba relaxed and stopped moving.

Harry stared accusingly at Snape, "What magic was that? Why didn't you use it in the first place?" Harry was frustrated, but he didn't yell.

Snape gave him a disapproving stare but relented just as quickly, "It was no magic at all. Merely comfort. You would be surprised how much comforting words and touches penetrate the unconscious mind. How do you think mothers get their senselessly crying babies to sleep?"

Harry wasn't so sure that was true, but it worked. Harry let go of Elphaba as Snape went back to work. He did what Snape had done when Elphaba started moving again; granted not nearly as well, but she did calm down. The worst was when Snape had to push her rib back into her body. Her back arched and she cried out in her sleep, but she didn't wake up. Snape just kept going while Harry held her down as best he could. As soon as the rib was pushed back into her body and it was in its proper place, Elphaba calmed down again, but her breathing was shallower, and her head kept tossing back and forth.

"Is this normal?" Harry asked. He was worried she might be going mental from the pain.

"She is dreaming," Snape practically whispered, not looking up from his work. He had finished placing the ribs, now he just needed to mend them.

"Dreaming?" Harry asked dumbly. How could he tell?

"It is called REM; Rapid Eye Movement. Her eyes are moving rapidly behind her lids, as if she were looking around. It means she is dreaming." Snape answered just as quietly as before.

"Oh," Harry said lamely. 'Wonder what she's dreaming about.' After another hour of watching Elphaba's face and cooling her forehead, Harry heard Snape sigh tiredly. Harry looked at his professor.

"She is out of danger," he answered Harry's silent question. "Her ribs are completely healed, but they are weak. I don't want her up for at least four days. Her organs are safe, and the wound where the rib poked through is healed. The lashes are a different story. Not only are they on her back and stomach, but also halfway down her thighs, both sides. The bottoms of her feet are also lacerated." Harry wondered if Snape even noticed he was giving Harry information he had kept from him before. "I could apply a potion to help the cuts heal quicker, and I will, but not tonight. I don't want her moved. So, I will come back tomorrow around seven o'clock am and apply that. You, Potter, are to watch her until then and make sure she doesn't hurt herself." He seemed to have regained his equilibrium because he was giving Harry a sharp look.

"Yes, Sir, I understand." Snape stood to leave. "Um, Sir, what if she has to… well… use the loo?" Snape's lips quirked up a little at Harry's discomfort.

"Well, you will just have to help her with that, won't you?" Harry stared dumbfounded at his professor. He couldn't be serious, he couldn't expect him to…. no, he couldn't even picture it. Harry stared wordlessly at his professor for another whole minute. Finally, Snape seemed to think of something. "Oh, I just remembered a spell that might be of some help to you." Snape feigned surprise at his forgetfulness. "Yes. There is a spell that will allow you to empty one's bladder, so as to not have to move, and…."

"Okay, just give me the spell." Harry interrupted. "Spare me the details." Snape shrugged, said the spell, and walked toward the door. When he was halfway out the door, Harry came to a realization. "Hey, you knew about the spell the entire time, and waited for me to nearly faint in shock before you gave it to me!" Harry said in an accusingly tone.

"Your quick wit astounds me, Potter." Snape drawled from the door, "You may actually rival Miss Granger in a couple hundred years or so." Snape walked out the door. Harry could hear him chuckling darkly down the hall. Harry huffed and sat down in the vacant chair next to Elphaba on the bed.

Harry looked at Elphaba, "You are lucky you can't understand him, or you would be just as pissed as me right now. You probably would have been more mortified than me. Well, seeing as you are unconscious you don't have to worry about putting up with him at all, do you?" Harry looked around the room. It was very sparse; as he expected just a dresser, closet, bed-stand, a small tea table in the corner, and one bed. ONE bed! Where was he supposed to sleep? He was not going to sleep in the same bed as her. Maybe Snape would conjure one up for him tomorrow morning, if he asked nicely. 'But, what if I wanted to sleep tonight? Where is Hermione when I need her?'

Harry stood up and started pacing the room. He was tired, but too bored to actually sit still. He was just contemplating going downstairs for a midnight snack, when a startled cry came from the bed. He whipped his head around and looked at Elphaba. She was thrashing wildly in her sleep. The sheets were tangling with her legs and her arms were dangerously close to hitting the pitcher of water.

Harry ran to the pitcher, grabbed it, and placed on the floor. Then he reached out to Elphaba. "No, no, you have to stay still. Snape said…" Harry's words were cut short by a hard smack to the face. "Ouch!" Harry yelped as he leapt away from the bed. Harry looked on in despair as Elphaba became more and more frantic in her sleep. Tears were sliding down her cheeks; her face was clouded with grief.

'You would be surprised how much comforting words and touches penetrate the unconscious mind.' Snape's words echoed in Harry's mind. Making up his mind, Harry walked over to the bed again, and reached for Elphaba's arms. Once he had secured them to her sides, which only made her writhe more, Harry slid onto the bed next to her, and wrapped his arms around her. He held her and whispered, "It's okay, no one is going to hurt you, it's okay," over and over again. Eventually, Elphaba lapsed into quiet sobs and shaking; she had stopped thrashing. Harry could have let go at that point, but he was too tired and paranoid that she would have another nightmare if he let go, so he stayed put and fell asleep with her in his arms.

Japanese translations:

Sugoi – Cool

Tasukete – Help me


	4. Chapter 4

Elphaba's mind slowly regained consciousness. She couldn't remember much, but she knew she had been through a lot in the last forty-eight hours. She didn't try hard to remember, because she could feel Fiyero's arms around her, and she knew she would be okay so long as he was there.

She laid in darkness for a little while longer, but then she felt pain in her body increase rapidly. 'What the…' Elphaba's eyes flew open taking in the dilapidated ceiling above her. Then she looked to her right and saw it was Harry's arms that were around her, not Fiyero's. Fiyero was dead, and she couldn't do anything about it. She was helpless then and now. Tears pricked her eyes at the thought of her "limitedness." Tears traced lines down her cheeks for the umpteenth time in forty-eight hours. Some landed on Harry's exposed arms, which caused him to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he was staring into Elphaba's shining brown eyes.

"Uh, morning," Harry said awkwardly. Elphaba merely looked at him blankly.

"Good morning to you, too," Drawled a voice from the corner. Both Harry and Elphaba jumped at the sound and looked over. Professor Snape sat at the small table in the corner of the room reading the Daily Prophet and sipping coffee.

"How long have you been there?" Harry asked as he gently disentangled himself from Elphaba.

"Since seven seeing as that is what I said last night. It is eight now."

"Well, why didn't you wake me up?" Harry asked in an annoyed tone.

"Because you both looked so peaceful sleeping together, I just couldn't break you apart." Harry liked Snape better when he acted like a bastard toward him all the time. He wasn't sure he enjoyed this nice/teasing/darkly sarcastic Snape. It put him on edge. Harry stared at Snape with a less than trusting look. "You are being paranoid again, Potter. Stop, before you hurt yourself. Now, out. I need to apply this healing salve to Elphaba's wounds."

Harry suddenly thought of something Snape didn't know about Elphaba yet. He grinned wickedly at his professor. "Okay," Harry bounced off the bed and practically skipped to the door. "Enjoy." Harry shut the door, as both Snape and Elphaba stared at the space Harry had just been wondering if he was high on something.

"Well," Snape said to break the silence, "that was odd." Snape stood from the table and pulled out a large jar of healing salve. He walked over to Elphaba and set the jar down on the bedside table. Taking out his wand, Snape said a spell, and pointed it at his own throat. "Elphaba, I need to apply this salve to your wounds. It will speed up the healing process by days. Within three days, you will merely have scars. Will you allow me to apply it?"

Elphaba stared at him in shock. Not only could she understand his language, but she could also understand his intent, and as wonderful as it was to be able to communicate with him, she did not want him touching her like that.

"No," she said in a steely voice.

"Let me rephrase that. I need to put this lotion on your cuts or else they will become infected, and you will die a slow and painful death." Snape said matter-of-factly.

Elphaba mulled that over in her mind. "No!" she said more forcefully.

"Oh dear, we have come to an impasse. Well, it is either me or Harry. You choose." Snape smiled bitter-sweetly at her.

Harry stood listening at the door. He couldn't hear anything they said, but when he heard a loud "IYADA!" and a crash close to the door, he smiled evilly.

'I guess Snape just found out about Elphaba's extraordinary gift with wandless magic.' Harry thought as he snickered quietly.

An hour later, Snape came out looking more than a little flustered, his hair was out of place and his clothes were torn in places. Harry attempted to cover his laugh with a cough.

"What are you laughing at, Potter? You are the one who has to apply it next time, and the time after that, and the time after that. Make sure it is applied every day for the next three days." Snape said smugly.

"What!?" Harry's voice cracked, "Why? What will _you_ be doing?"

"I have prior engagements which include school curriculums, potions for the infirmary, and the unfortunate situation of your nemesis being alive again. Therefore, I have to have a hand in taking him down again. Thank you very much. Besides, it looks suspicious; me coming here every day. People will start to wonder. And, I thought you wanted your stay here to be a secret." Snape looked at Harry and gave him an evil smile.

"I do." Harry answered the last statement weakly.

"Well, then. I will see you on September first at the Welcoming Feast. Do try to be a normal student and come without a grand entrance." Snape said as he started down the stairs.

"Wait! What about Elphaba? What will she do when I am off to school?" Harry asked desperately.

"I will leave that up to your genius mind to figure out. You are a bright young wizard, according to some, I am sure you'll think of something absolutely crazy." Snape said half turning around.

"What about my appearance?" Harry asked frantically. He didn't want to be left in charge of this woman's health all alone. "I still have brown hair."

"Well, I thought you would like not being _the_ Harry Potter for a little while. It makes your staying here a secret that much easier anyway."

"Fine," Harry relented, "what if I need money? I can't go to my bank vault looking like this."

"I graciously left you a considerable sum on the table, and I already bought your books and a few others you might find interesting." He said pointedly.

"I don't want your charity money," Harry tried one more jibe to get his professor to stay.

"Too bad, it is already there. Plus, you said it yourself; you can't go to your vault looking like that." Harry couldn't think of any other thing that might keep his professor there any longer. "Well if that is all… I will be leaving. Good day, Potter." Snape walked down the stairs chuckling darkly to himself again.

Harry stared after Snape despondently. After a few minutes of working up some seemingly nonexistent Gryffindor courage, Harry walked back into his and Elphaba's room. Harry tried very hard not to make eye contact with Elphaba for about five minutes, but with her being the only other living being in the room, it was rather difficult. After five and a half minutes of him staring at the floor and Elphaba glaring daggers at him, he finally looked at her. He wished he hadn't. Was there a word that meant more angry than irate? He wondered. Harry gulped and walked meekly over to the bed.

"So, ah, ho…how'd… it go?" Harry asked timidly.

Elphaba watched Harry walk over to her after about five minutes of awkward silence. She couldn't tell if she were angrier at him or that man. On the one hand, that man saw things she would rather him not have seen. And on the other, Harry let it happen. She wondered briefly if she would be able to get up and slap Harry like she really wanted to; but she doubted it. Her tongue couldn't even move after some spell that that man placed on her. What was it? Pet… Petriiifiikasu toutaorisu? Something like that anyway.

Elphaba threw the man backward with her mind when he came closer to her with that jar of salve. Didn't he hear her? She said 'No.' She didn't want either of them spreading that stuff on her anywhere.

As soon as the man got to his feet after slamming into the wall, he had pointed his wand at her and said, 'Petriifikasu toutaorisu!' From that point on, she couldn't move a muscle; the only thing she could do was breathe and move her eyes. Her frustration and humiliation only got worse as time went on. By the end of the whole ordeal, she was very near tears of mortification and anger. She wanted nothing more than to throw the man out the window.

He said a few things to her that she ignored, and when she finally got the courage up to look at him again, he was walking out the door. She hoped she would never see him again.

Harry took her silence as being too angry to even attempt to talk to him; even in a foreign language, and walked over to the table. He saw the stack of books that Snape had bought for him. They all looked equally boring. Even the DADA textbook looked unbearably childish. 'I wonder what psycho-maniac is teaching this year.' Harry thought dully. He looked through the books anyway; for lack of other things to do. He was desperately trying to think of anything else other than what he had to do tomorrow morning.

'I would rather face off with Voldemort again than rub that salve on Elphaba's cuts. …Maybe he'll show up tonight and kill me so I won't have to worry about it.' Harry thought half-heartedly. Harry got to the last book and looked at the title. "Translation Charms: For the Idiots that Did Not Bother Learning Other Languages," Harry read to himself. "Boring…" Harry set the book back on the table, "That would be Hermione's kind of book." Harry sat at the table for another thirty seconds.

Elphaba lay on the bed wondering how long it would take Harry to figure out that she couldn't move and therefore not speak. She really had to go to the bathroom. She looked at Harry again. He had looked through the books and now sat there staring at them dully. Then he suddenly smacked his palm against his forehead, and quickly grabbed the last book up again. Elphaba worried for his mental health.

Harry flipped to the table of contents and skimmed the chapters.

Why Idiots Should Learn Languages the Hard Way First!

Ways to Translate Languages If Said Idiots are Too Lazy to be Academics

All the Different Languages One Could Have Learned the Hard Way

Separate Spells for Those Who Only Learned Halfway (Speaking but not Reading, Reading but not Speaking, etc)

Spells that Translate Everything for Those Who Refuse to Even Try Learning Anything

Spells for the Language Speaker Who Also Chose Not to Learn

Why it is Best to Learn Another Language Rather than Depend on Someone Else's Genius for the Rest of their Lives

And the patronizing list went on.

"Geez, did Snape write this book?" Harry wondered aloud. Harry looked at the author half expecting to see the greasy git's name. "Nope, some other snarky, sarcastic bastard wrote it." Harry looked at Elphaba, "Even when he's not here; he insults my intelligence." Elphaba's look seemed to say, 'What intelligence?' "Still mad at me I see. Come on it couldn't have been that bad…" Elphaba merely stared at him disgruntled. He thought about what he had just said. "Never mind, it could have been that bad." Harry turned back to the book. 'Chapters five and six sound promising…'

Half an hour later, Harry stood up and walked over to the bed with his wand. "Watch this…" he said. He pointed his wand at his throat and said one of the translation spells that he had learned from the book. Once he muttered the spell, he said, "Well, do you understand me?" Elphaba said nothing. She merely blinked. "I could have sworn I said it correctly," he whined as he looked at the book again. "I even moved my wand correctly."

Elphaba would have strangled him by now; if only she could MOVE! 'Come on, Harry. You have to notice sooner or later. Are you really that dim?' She thought desperately.

"_He's only fifteen_," _Glinda said in her mind, "Give him some credit. He's doing the best he can. This is most likely not a walk in the park for him either."_

'Well, while he's busy being 'slower than usual,' I'm going to make a mess on the bed.' Elphaba thought testily.

"_Well, it sucks to be you then."_

Harry was sitting at the table again, pouring over the book. He stood up to give the spell another go, when he noticed a piece of paper on the table. He picked it up and read it.

Potter,

As you oh so graciously threw me under the bus when I said I needed to put healing salve on Elphaba, I found out something rather interesting about our new friend. She is quite good at wandless magic. Of course, being the perfect young man that you are, you allowed me to find out on my own. Because of the difficult situation I was made to endure, I had no choice but to place the Full-Body Bind Curse on her. When you deem it safe to take it off of her, please do so.

S.S.

Harry stared at the letter for thirty seconds before he realized his mistake. He looked over at Elphaba who was staring at him annoyed. Harry meekly walked over to her again. He pointed at his throat, said the translation spell, and then pointed at her. He took off the curse, and stared at his shoes. As soon as he had taken off the curse, Elphaba closed her eyes and inhaled as deeply as she could.

"You must think I'm pretty stupid, huh?" Harry admitted.

"I have not made up my mind yet." Elphaba said in highly accented English.

Harry cleared his throat nervously; he liked it when they couldn't communicate. Suddenly, he felt very young and inexperienced compared to her. "Do you, ah, need anything?" He asked apprehensively.

Elphaba frowned at him and considered telling him her predicament. _"Well, what else are you supposed to do? It's not like you can get up and walk." Glinda said matter-of-factly._ "I have to use the restroom," she said as she stared at the ceiling. She didn't see Harry blush, but she did hear him say another spell. Instantly, she felt relieved. She looked at him, but Harry was now staring at the floor.

She didn't say anything to relieve him of his embarrassment. She felt like he deserved it. Then again, he could have just left her in that park yesterday. He could have left her to die rather than leave his home and nearly lose her in the process anyway. Elphaba sighed. She never really was good with children.

"Harry," She arched one of her eyebrows quizzically when he didn't look at her. "Harry, look at me, please." Harry glanced up at her, but didn't keep eye contact. "I know this will be difficult for both of us, but please let us not be awkward with each other." Harry finally looked at her. He had a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Elphaba felt the metaphorical ice around her heart crack a little. "I know for a fact that we will have more awkward moments," Harry wondered if she knew that he would be the one to put healing salve on her again, "but, I will try to be as cooperative as possible. Seeing as I cannot do much on my own."

'Nope, I don't think she knows about that bit of information. Did Snape conveniently forget to tell her?' Harry figured he would. 'Should I tell her now, and possibly ruin our bonding moment, or wait until later when she has gotten used to me?' Harry paled at the thought of having her yell at him the way she yelled at Snape.

"Harry," Elphaba noticed that Harry had gone pale. "Are you alright? Have you eaten anything today?"

Harry gulped a little and decided on later. "Um, yeah. I mean, yeah, I'm fine. Uh, no, I haven't eaten. Are you hungry? I can go get something from downstairs." Harry was already half-way to the door. Elphaba wondered at his sudden nervous behavior, but put it off as his way of dealing with their awkward friendship.

"Yes, I suppose I am," She answered slowly.

"Okay, well, I'll be right back then," Harry backed out the door and bolted down the stairs to get some food.

Later that day…

"What do you mean he's gone?!" yelled an irate Alaster Moody, on the steps of Number 4 Privet Drive.

"He left yesterday. I don't know where he is and I don't care. He just said he would never darken our doorstep again. Good day." Mr. Dursley slammed the door in Moody's face. Moody turned back to the group of witches and wizards standing behind him.

"Well, what now?" Tonks asked.

"I suppose we should go tell Albus." Moody said gruffly.

"Shouldn't we look for him first," mentioned Kingsley, "There aren't many places he could go."

"Sure, let's start at the Leaky Cauldron," the group Apparated on the spot.

No one noticed the little red beetle shaking from anticipation of her new headline.

The group went to the Leaky Cauldron and interrogated the barman; he said he knew nothing. They searched Diagon Alley thoroughly, and even went into Knockturn Alley. They also checked Hogsmeade just to say they had checked everywhere. When they didn't find him, they returned to Headquarters to deliver the bad news.

When they walked into the kitchen where everyone was waiting, everyone looked quite confused.

"Where's Harry?" asked Sirius.

"He's missing." Moody informed the room in general. Everyone waited for him to yell "Gotcha!" and have Harry burst into the room.

"What do you mean he's MISSING!?" Sirius yelled.

"MISSING!?" Many people yelled at once.

"Quiet down, please." Professor Albus Dumbledore said from the head of the table, "Alastor, let's hear it from the top, if you please."

"Thank you, Albus. We went to Privet Drive to pick up Potter when his oaf of an uncle opened the door, took one look at us, and said, 'He's not here.' He attempted to shut the door in our faces, but I stopped him and told him to elaborate. Dursley only said that he left yesterday with the intention of never coming back to the house again. And, that's it."

"We searched Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, and Hogsmeade, but he was nowhere to be found." Tonks added.

"Interesting that Potter did not let any of us know that he was leaving." Snape commented from the corner, "I would have thought if he planned to meet anyone, he would have let them know." He looked pointedly at Hermione and Ron.

"Harry hasn't contacted us in days." Hermione said to the room at large. Ron nodded in agreement.

"Then perhaps Potter does not wish to be found," Snape said matter-of-factly. Snape missed the questioning look Minerva McGonagall gave him.

"Impossible. Harry knows he's at risk if he goes off on his own. He wouldn't let us worry over him like this." Sirius denied.

"Well, perhaps he got fed up with being left out, and went off to finish the Dark Lord on his own so as to prove himself; how very Gryffindor of him." Snape commented dryly.

"Shut your trap, Snivellus!" Sirius yelled. Snape opened his mouth to retaliate.

"Gentlemen, please." Albus spoke up before they came to blows, "If Harry is in trouble, I am sure he will let us know when he can. Until then, we will search every place he would willingly go to until we get some information about him. Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Weasley, will you kindly send letters to Harry and let him know of our concern."

"Of course, Headmaster," they chorused and walked out of the kitchen.

"Well, I suppose we all should start looking." Albus dismissed them all and went back to his office via Floo.

Snape had almost made it to the door when McGonagall called him back. "Yes, Minerva, what is it?"

"Severus, I would like to have a word with you in private," Minerva gestured to an adjacent room. He opened his mouth to say he needed to be somewhere. "Now," she interjected. He grudgingly followed her into the room. She waved her wand to sound proof the room and turned to face him.

"Where is he, Severus?" Minerva asked.

"Where is who?" Severus played dumb.

"Harry Potter. If you didn't know where he was, you would be just as frantic as Black; for other reasons of course. He is Lily's son after all."

"You are implying that I know of Mr. Potter's whereabouts?" Snape played along.

"Yes, I am. Now, where is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Snape answered smoothly.

"I think you do. And, I will go straight to Albus if you don't tell me where Harry is now. Then, you will have to deal with him instead of just little old me." Severus thought about his options.

"Hypothetically, say I did know where he was. If he was in danger, do you think I would let you know?"

Minerva studied him briefly, "Yes, I think you would." Snape smiled briefly at her.

"Then it is settled. Have a nice night, Minerva." Snape swept out of the room and out into London's cool late-summer's air.

The next day

**Harry Potter is MISSING!**

"Oh, look I made the front page again. Well, now Voldemort knows for sure that I am vulnerable, if only he could find me." Harry laughed at his own joke. He still looked like someone else.

"I wouldn't joke about things like that," Elphaba said in her accented English. "You might just curse yourself."

"I've already been cursed." Harry stated.

"Baka," Elphaba sighed. Yesterday, after they had had breakfast, Harry proceeded to tell Elphaba his life story. She found it very interesting and distressing at times. She realized he hated attention as much as she did, and got it, unwillingly, for different reasons. They were more alike than she had originally thought. However, when he had asked about her life, she refused to say much except that her father was a lot like Harry's uncle. After Harry had worked up the courage, he asked who Fiyero was, but Elphaba just looked away with a very sad face. Nevertheless, Harry was so overjoyed to have made such good friends with Elphaba that he couldn't find the motivation to kill the mood by telling her about their impending predicament the next morning.

So, now he sat at eight o'clock the next morning twiddling his thumbs nervously, trying to work up some more nonexistent courage to bring up the subject. He had set the jar on the bedside table next to her before she woke up; hoping she would notice it during breakfast. If she had noticed it, she didn't say anything. Now, they sat in another awkward silence.

Elphaba was getting fed up with the silence. She remembered when she would have rather sat in silence than talk to someone. But, after making friends with Glinda, she found she couldn't stand the silence between them. She could tell Harry wanted, perhaps needed to tell her something, but was too anxious to tell her.

"What is it, Harry? You have sat there fidgeting for almost half an hour, just tell me." Harry looked at her with a very red face. 'Why is he blushing?' She wondered; slightly on edge.

Harry had to clear his throat a couple times before he could make himself speak. "I, uh, have to, um, put that… thatstuffonyou." He waved in the general direction of the jar. Elphaba stared at him.

"Sorry, I did not understand that last part." She had an uneasy feeling start up in the pit of her stomach.

"I…" Harry took a deep breath, "I have to put that healing salve on your wounds. Like Snape did yesterday." He explained a little more slowly. He dreaded what would happen next. He braced himself for impact. He even closed his eyes so he couldn't see it coming.

Elphaba watched him as he closed his eyes and tensed. Had she heard him correctly? He needed to put that healing paste stuff on her wounds. Like what that man, Snape, did yesterday? 'Can my life get any worse?' she wondered briefly.

"_It could. Don't forget, you said you would cooperate with him." Glinda reminded her._

'You come up at the most inopportune times, you know that. Besides, I didn't realize Harry would have to… you know.' Elphaba shot back at her friend.

"_Yes, you did." Glinda said, "Snape told you yesterday, you just refused to accept the fact, so you forgot. But, if you would try to remember, he did tell you, and he said a few other things as well. But, let's just focus on Harry's predicament for now."_

Elphaba did remember, unfortunately. She also recalled her promise, and she never backed down from her word. She sighed; resigned.

"Well, let's get this over with then." Harry looked at her shocked. "I said I would cooperate, did I not?"

"Yes, but…" Harry stuttered. He was sure she would refuse to let him come near her.

"But nothing, Harry." She sighed again. "I said I would cooperate, and I never go back on my word. You will understand of course, if I do not talk to you for the rest of the day, or at least for a couple of hours." Elphaba couldn't help but tense a little when he walked over to her.

"I understand. I might just make myself scarce for a couple of hours too." Harry gulped as he took the lid off the jar and looked at her again. He couldn't help it; he blushed.

"How many times do we have to do this?" Elphaba dreaded his answer.

"Two more days after today," Harry answered. Harry was unsure of what to do. Where should he start? He felt slightly ill.

Elphaba just had to know the answer to what was running through her mind at the moment. "Harry…" he looked at her, "have you ever seen a naked woman before?" Harry blushed.

"No," he whispered. "I mean… I have an idea… I mean, um, …"

"That is all I wanted to know. The only surprise you may get, is that yes, I am green everywhere," She just had to put that out there. If he, like any other normal boy, could and had imagined what a naked woman looked like, then this could be relatively painless, just totally and completely embarrassing for both of them. "Well…"

"Well…" Harry repeated her awkwardly. "What should I do first?"

"You could start by helping me out of my clothes." Elphaba suggested. She tried to be as accommodating as possible.

"Right." …

After two very painfully awkward hours, Elphaba was dressed again. And Harry was kneeling next to her on the bed, only he wasn't looking at her. He was staring at the wall on the other side of the room. Elphaba felt like she should say something to him, but she was just as dazed as him. What could she say? Good job? No. Just think we get to do it all over again tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Definitely not. Nothing at all? Well…

"Well," Harry started after he got over the blankness that had settled in his mind. "What now?"

"Seeing as I cannot move; not much," Elphaba said just to make conversation.

"Yeah, and I should probably avoid going out in public even if I don't look like myself." 'Tap, tap.'

Both Harry and Elphaba looked at the window. 'Thank Merlin, a distraction.' Harry thought relieved. Ron's owl Pigwidgeon was flying in front of the glass. He was carrying what looked like five different letters.

"It's about time they sent me some letters. I was beginning to think they had forgotten me again." Harry walked over to the window and let the hyper little owl in. Pigwidgeon flittered around the ceiling some before Harry could get him to come down. Once he had, Harry took the letters off the owl's leg and gave it some scraps from his leftover breakfast.

"Who are they from?" Elphaba asked curiously. Harry looked at the names.

"My friends, my godfather, and my best friend's mom," Harry answered as he tore open the letter from Sirius. "Dear Harry," he read aloud. "Where are you? What are you doing? Are you safe? I'm worried about you. You need to contact me right away so that I can come get you. You would be safer with me. Please don't ignore my letter. Love, Padfoot." Elphaba cocked her head to the side at the writer's name. "It's a nickname; I will explain later. Next."

Harry opened another letter. "This one's from my friend's mom, Mrs. Weasley. 'Harry, what do you think you are doing? You know you are not safe on your own. You need to contact us as soon as you are able. With all my love, Mrs. Weasley."

"She seems to care a great deal for you," Elphaba commented.

"Yeah, I'm like a son to her, even though she already has six sons and one daughter." Elphaba stared at him in shock. "It's a lot of kids I know. Sometimes, I wonder how they get by. Next, ah, this one's from Ginny Weasley, my friend's little sister; the youngest of the Weasley family. 'Harry, are you out of your mind. You-know-who is out there looking for you, and you just go off on your own. It's definitely one of your more stupid ideas.'

"Next, is from Ron Weasley; my best friend. 'Harry, have you gone bloody insane? You have a psychopathic, mass-murdering, dark wizard looking for you, and you just up and leave one of the safest places for you to be. Not smart, Harry. By the way, Mum's in tears, Hermione is irate, and Sirius and Remus are deciding whether to go out and look for you, Aurors or no. Hope you are safe, and write back. Ron.'" Harry put down Ron's letter and picked up the last one, from Hermione. "This last one is from my other best friend, Hermione Granger. 'Harry, what are you up to? I know you wouldn't leave Privet Drive, unless it was for a really good reason. So, what are you hiding from us? Everyone is frantic. Professor Dumbledore and the others are really worried. Although, Professor Snape didn't seem too worried, and Professor McGonagall noticed too, I think, because I saw her talking privately with him. I didn't hear what they said, but I could see your name on their lips a lot. I think he knows something the rest of us don't. Harry, what is going on? Hermione.'"

"She is a quick one," Elphaba praised. "She has already figured that there is something amiss."

"Yeah, I would have been surprised if she hadn't thought of something already. What should I do? Should I send them a letter?"

"They are your friends, Harry. That is your decision. However, if it were me, I would send them a letter. If you do not want to join them wherever they are, you do not have to tell them where we are. But, if you do want to join them, I understand," when Elphaba said this last sentence, she looked away from him. She didn't want to be left alone again, but she would completely understand if Harry chose his friends over her; especially after this morning. She was too much trouble; she always had been.

Elphaba heard rather than saw Harry get some paper of his own and start writing. For half an hour, she just laid on the bed waiting for Harry to get done writing. When he was finished he walked over to Elphaba and held out his letter.

"Could you proofread it for me?" Elphaba took the paper and looked at it. She couldn't read it.

"Sorry Harry, but I cannot read it." she gave the paper back to him.

"Oh, well, I will just read it out loud then," Harry cleared his throat. "Everyone, I am sorry to have caused you so much worry. Please, take comfort in knowing that I am safe where I am, and I have taken as many precautions as possible to be safe. I plan to attend school on September first, so I will see Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the twins, and the professors at school. Mrs. Weasley, Padfoot, Remus and everyone else, I will probably see you all during Christmas Holidays. I hope you all are well. Love, Harry."

Harry put the letter down and looked at Elphaba, "What do you think?"

"It is good, I suppose," Elphaba gave a shy but grateful smile. "Are you sure you want to do this? Stay with me, I mean?"

"Sure, I would rather be here with you having some fun before school than anywhere else."

"Fun? You call staying cooped up with me in this little room for another few weeks fun?"

"Well, it won't be exhilarating, but I can take the time to teach you everything you need to know about wizardry and witchcraft. You can already do wandless magic, magic with your mind, but I thought it would be helpful to know what the rest of us can do. Plus, I need to figure out a way for you to be able to communicate with everyone else; not just me. Not everyone in the wizarding community will be able to cast that spell I use to talk to you."

"You make a good point. I just have one question, why would I need to communicate with anyone else?"

"Well, since you will be coming to Hogwarts with me, I figured you would want to be able to talk to other people."

"I see. And, what, pray tell, will I be doing at your school? I do believe I am too old to attend your school as a student."

"Yeah, I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I'm sure we'll think of something. We have… two weeks. Are you game?"

"Game?"

"Are you willing to go along with my crazy plan?" Elphaba nodded because she honestly didn't have any other options, "Okay, well, first thing I am going to do is go to the bookstore and try to find a book on translation charms that work for everyone else."

"Alright. I will just wait here then," Elphaba made herself comfortable as Harry attached the letter to Hedwig's foot and sent her out the window. Then he grabbed the money Snape had given him and walked to the door. Harry turned to Elphaba,

"I'll be back as soon as possible."

Two hours later, Harry came back through the door carrying a single book. He looked over at Elphaba; she had fallen asleep. He tiptoed over to the table and started reading through his new book on translation charms.

_Five year old Elphaba played with her little sister Nessa. They were playing with some dolls that their father, Frexspar, had given to them to play with. Frexspar sat in another room writing another sermon. He decided he would preach about loving everyone no matter how different they were. Of course, he could use 'it' as the perfect example for his flock. He just started on his conclusion when he heard his little Nessa scream. He jumped out of his chair and ran to the other room. When he got to the door, he stared in shock. Little Nessa was dangling from her wheelchair eleven feet in the air, and his eldest daughter was sitting on the floor clutching a doll to her chest as she stared up in amazement and alarm._

_ Frexspar leapt forward just as Nessa fell from the chair. He got under her and caught her before she could hit the floor. Nessa was sobbing and barely able to breathe. He set her down on the table and cupped her cheeks with his large hands._

_ "Sweetie, tell Daddy what happened. Please…"_

_ Nessa sniffled, "Elphaba and I were playin' and I want'd to play with a doll that Elphie was playin' with. I asked her for it, but she said no. I asked again, and she said no. I wanted to play with it so I grabbed it. Then I was up in the air. I was so scared, Daddy." Nessa started crying again._

_ "It's okay, honey. It's okay. I'll make everything better, okay?" There was a tremendous crash as Nessa's wheelchair fell to the floor. Frexspar wheeled around to glare at his monster of a daughter. "You," he said forcefully, "don't move. You stay right there." Frexspar lifted his little Nessa, carried her to her room, and laid her on the bed. "Daddy will be right back. He's going to go talk to your big sister and ask her for the doll, okay?"_

_ "Okay, Daddy." Frexspar smiled, kissed Nessa's forehead, and walked down the stairs. Before he entered the dining room, he took off his leather belt and folded it into a loop in his hand. Then he marched into the room. He saw that _she _had not moved, but tears were already staining her ugly cheeks._

_ "I'm… mm… sor…sorry, Daddy." Elphaba said shakily from the floor. "I didn't mean to. It was an accident."_

_ "Shut your mouth, you WITCH! Not only do you plague this family with your ugly, monstrous skin, but you fiddle with sorcery too! Your father is a preacher, and you shame me and the rest of this family with your… HELLISH ways!" he waved the belt menacingly as he raged._

_ "I'm sorry." Elphaba whispered tearfully. She had backed against the adjacent wall._

_ "Get over here now. I am going to teach you what happens to little girls who practice sorcery." Elphaba didn't move. "NOW!" Frexspar yelled as he slapped the belt down on the table next to him. It made a resounding slap. Elphaba flinched, but climbed to her feet and started walking toward him. She was nearly sobbing, and he hadn't even started yet. He had no sympathy for her. When she was standing in front of him, he grabbed her long black hair, forced her back to him, and raised the belt. "You are an abomination; I wish you had never been born." He slammed the belt down on her small back._

_Eighteen years later…_

_Elphaba looked on in horror as the witch-hunters strapped Fiyero to a pole, and lit the surrounding brush on fire. The flames leapt up toward him, as he struggled to pull free. She tried to yank herself away from the men holding her, but she couldn't get away. When she started struggling, they would hit her and force her to her knees. They would make sure she had no strength left to fight, just like her father did when he would hit her. _

_Elphaba whipped her head up when she heard a terrified scream; Fiyero's clothes had just lit on fire and were being eaten away by the flames. His straw body caught fire at that point and he screamed even louder. As the flames licked at him, Fiyero looked straight at Elphaba and screamed, _

"_This is your fault, you Witch! If you had…any power at all, you would… save me! But, you are weak, you always were, you… FREAK!" Fiyero stared at her with hatred in his eyes as he burned. Elphaba couldn't look away from those cold, unloving eyes. They were exactly like her father's and everyone else's in the crowd. She felt frozen; she couldn't even fight as the men strapped her to a pole and lit the fire. Only when she felt the flames lick at her skin, did she scream._

Elphaba screamed and sat up in the bed. She was confused. Where was she, why wasn't she burning? She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She immediately threw her magic out and forced the being away from her. She huddled against the bed frame as she tried to make sense of everything in her fogged mind.

"Elphaba…Elphaba, it's alright. It's just me, it's Harry." Elphaba looked over at the person she had slammed against the wall. The boy looked shocked, but didn't seem angry at all; nothing like the people in her…dream. Elphaba gasped and let Harry down. She was breathing hard and she could feel tears on her cheeks. She didn't dare move to wipe them away; he would notice and only think her… weaker than she already was.

"Harry…I am… sorry. It was accident, I didn't mean to," Her own words echoed in her mind as she remembered using that exact phrase with her father. She looked down at the sheets around her; she couldn't look him in the eyes. She couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face, but she really wanted to.

"It's okay." Elphaba felt Harry sit next to her on the bed. He reached for her hand. She tried to snatch it away, but he caught it with surprisingly quick reflexes, and curled his fingers around her hand. She let her hand lay limp in his for a few seconds, but relented and wrapped her own fingers around his hand. He scooted a little closer to her, and she inched away. He tried to make eye contact with her, but she ducked her head. She was still crying. "I know what it is like to have a bad dream and wake up scared and confused. I've had plenty. Like I said yesterday, last year a friend of mine was killed right before my eyes and I wasn't quick enough to save him. …It's entirely my fault. My head felt like it was splitting open, I knew that we were in trouble, and I told him to run, to get away. But, he was too preoccupied with me and my stupid pain to defend himself. He stood up to defend us both from the bad guys, but without my help, he was no match for them. He was killed instantly and I couldn't lift a finger to help…" Harry trailed off.

Elphaba stared at the sheets in her lap. She still refused to look at Harry; he had been so helpful to her, and he didn't even know anything about her. She felt ashamed and tremendously sad. Elphaba hated that she couldn't put more trust in the one person that helped her without even hesitating.

"I am truly… sorry, Harry," she noticed that Harry had started rubbing circles on the back of her hand unconsciously in an attempt to comfort her. She remembered Fiyero would do that all the time, when she started to doubt herself and her cause. He would hold her and tell her everything would turn out fine in the end. But, he would never do that again. New tears filled Elphaba's eyes as she remembered his cold stare from her dream. Harry wrapped his arms around her shoulders to hold her as she cried.

Elphaba let him hold her for one minute before she pulled away abruptly, turned her back toward him, and lay down on her side. "Please, do not hold me like that… it reminds me of…"

"Of Fiyero." Harry finished for her. She felt guilt well up in her chest at his sad tone. After a minute or two, she felt Harry's hand on her arm. He rubbed gently from her shoulder to her elbow and back again. She knew he meant for it to comfort her. "You don't have to think of it that way." He said hesitantly behind her. "You could think of it as an annoying younger brother showing rare sympathy and love for his bossy older sister." Elphaba couldn't help but give a small derisive snort at the thought. She heard Harry sigh. He got up and walked to the table. She couldn't see him but she heard him fiddling with something.

Then she saw him walk to her side of the bed and duck down below the bed. He stopped in front of her on the bed, but she couldn't see him. "Harry, what are you…" Harry popped up and nearly gave Elphaba a heart attack. She moved away from him on the bed, "Harry, what…" she tried again.

"This is what I wore to the bookstore. What do you think?" he asked in a proud voice. "Thought of it on my own, I did." Elphaba stared at him. He was wearing a long cloak that covered him from neck to foot, a creepy old man's hat that was checkered, a painfully obvious fake mustache, and dark sunglasses.

"You look like you are about to flash someone." She said astonished. "That, or you are a child molester trying not to be noticed. Harry, please tell me you are joking, and you did not go into public like that. If you did, we need to have a serious talk about fashion and what vibes are given off by what clothes. Sweet Oz, I sounded exactly like Glinda."

"_I'm so proud…" Glinda wiped away tears of joy from her cheeks._

"You're one to talk about fashion and vibes. You are green, and wear black clothing. In the muggle world, you would be a witch. Or, someone who wants to be a witch."

Harry's words rang so true with Elphaba's father's words that she was shaken out of her momentary happiness, and reminded unpleasantly of her dream. She frowned and looked away.

"What? What is it?" Harry leaned down next to her and tried looking at her again. "What did I say?" She shied away from him. Harry sighed and plopped down next to her, mustache and all. He threw his arm around her and held her in a half hug. She sat very tense next to him. "Now…" She looked at him when he didn't finish. What she saw made her smile shyly and look away quickly, she almost laughed a little. Harry had been looking at her from over his sunglasses in a mock serious way. "You tell little brother all about it and I will try to give you some advice. If I can't give you good advice, which is likely because I am the idiot younger brother, at least you will have let yourself vent about your… troubles." Harry waited for her to decide.

"If I refuse to tell you anything…" she started.

"I am not moving from this position until we make some mentally healing progress. Granted, I am no psychologist, but I am a good listener when it comes to helping my friends." Elphaba relaxed a little in his arms. He had just admitted that they were friends.

"Well," she started, "the first part was really a memory, because it did happen, multiple times. The second part was a memory and a nightmare combined, I suppose." Harry waited for her to continue. Elphaba guessed he didn't want to force her into anything; he would let her take her time, like a good friend. "I was five years old playing with my little sister, Nessa…."

Harry held Elphaba two hours later as she cried quietly. She wasn't cuddled up against his chest; she was leaning into his side just below his shoulder with her head turned slightly toward his chest. Her hands were clutching parts of his shirt and the sheets as she let out her grief and mental pain.

After Elphaba had told Harry about her dream, she told him about every other prominent experience in her life so far. She told him about more abuse from her father and her father's favoritism for Nessa. She told him about how she was treated like a monster all her life because of her appearance. He learned about Glinda and Fiyero and the good things they had brought into her life for the first time. She told him of how she was tricked into doing something terrible and was then shunned and hunted for things she hadn't done.

She was beside herself with grief when she told him about how all of her good intentions with magic always ended in disaster, such as Boq's transformation, Nessa's eventual death, and Fiyero's torture and death. Everything seemed okay after Fiyero had come back as a scarecrow and she had made everyone believe she was dead, but their happiness was short-lived.

Somehow, the people of Oz had found out she was still alive, so they hunted her. She and Fiyero were forced to live on the run. Fiyero claimed to not mind, but she could tell he was… frustrated. They were almost to the border of Oz, when the witch-hunters finally caught them. Since they couldn't physically hurt Fiyero and punish him for aiding a fugitive, they made him watch as they tortured Elphaba for the "crimes" she had committed. In the end, they decided to burn both of them and be rid of both of them. From there, Harry knew the rest.

Harry stared at the wall as he mulled over all the information he was given. Elphaba had stopped crying in earnest and was sniffling quietly. He would have moved to get her a tissue, but he didn't want to let go of her. Somehow, he knew that letting go of her at that moment would not be good for either of them, especially her. So, he stayed put.

They sat there for hours; Elphaba had stopped crying hours ago and was just sitting in silence. Harry had no idea what she was thinking, but he hoped it wasn't anything too negative. At about six o'clock in the evening, Harry's stomach grumbled loudly in the quiet room. Elphaba startled slightly at the sudden noise, but relaxed again just as quickly.

"I am sorry." Her voice was quiet and hoarse. "I…"

"You don't need to apologize."Harry said quickly but quietly, he didn't want her to get the wrong impression from his voice. "You needed to do what you did. Crying, grieving, sharing, and stuff; I'm glad you did anyway. I feel like I know you a whole lot better, and I will be that much more help if and when this happens again, because I already know about your… experiences." Elphaba didn't respond. When it was clear she wouldn't, Harry just sat with her a little while longer. His stomach growled even louder after another five minutes. Harry sighed, "Listen, I don't know how you feel about me knowing everything about your life, but I know that I am glad to be your friend and someone you can trust. I wouldn't give up this time together for the world… big sister." Harry saw Elphaba smile sadly at the title he had just given her. He knew she was thinking of Nessa.

"Thank you…" she stopped when Harry's stomach rumbled again. Harry sighed. "Thank you for everything. I think I will be able to cope better now, at least. …You had better go get some food," she tried to make herself sound more teasing than she felt, "You are still a growing young man. Go get some food for both of us before we starve to death, little brother."

"Yes, bossy." Harry grinned and walked out the door. Elphaba sighed depressed. She felt absolutely drained, but her shoulders felt a little lighter than they did before.


	5. Chapter 5

Two days later, Harry was helping Elphaba out of bed. She stood up slowly and allowed her body time to get used to standing again. It was amazing what two days of laying on a bed would do to one's equilibrium. She nearly fell over after a few seconds of standing, but Harry held onto her. Her head felt fuzzy, as if she were going to pass out. But, she took some deep breaths and stood her ground. When she felt strong enough to stand on her own, she let go of Harry. He let go too, but still stood right in front of her.

"How do you feel?" Harry asked. Her face had taken on a paler shade of green, which he paralleled with the blood draining out of someone's face, therefore making them look pale and sick.

"Slightly woozy, and maybe a little nauseous." She took a few more deep breaths and took a step forward. Her hips, knees, and ankles popped as she worked them after two days of disuse.

"Gosh, how old are you?" Harry asked good-naturedly when he heard the popping.

"Twenty-three."

"You're ancient," Harry joked, "but still very pretty. You age well." Elphaba rolled her eyes as she walked around the room. It was becoming easier every second. After a few more rounds, she sat back down on the bed. She felt more tired than she expected.

"What now?" she asked. She could finally walk again, but she was not ready to go out in public.

"Well, we could go over what you have learned; you have read through all my books already. You could quiz me on fifth year stuff, considering the fact I have gone through all my books this year. Ron and Hermione are going to go into shock when they hear I've already gone through them. I don't usually study that much; that's Hermione's job. Or, you could go take a shower. That won't take all day…I hope." Elphaba threw her pillow at him. "You choose."

Elphaba stood up again. "Where is the shower?"

"It's just down the hall to your left. The towels are already in there as well as shampoo and body soap. Take your time; I think we are the only patrons Tom has right now." As Elphaba walked toward the door, Harry grabbed his translation charms book up and started reading. He finally found a charm that just might work.

Elphaba walked down the hall quickly. She wanted to get into the shower before anyone decided to walk into the hall and see a green girl in jeans and a sweatshirt. She walked into the bathroom, closed the door, locked it, and leaned against the door. She felt winded. After catching her breath, she took in her surroundings. It was a simple bathroom with a toilet, sink, and bathtub with a shower curtain. The lotions and towels were lined up in an orderly fashion on the counter next to the sink. It was like any other hotel she had stayed in.

Elphaba turned to the bathtub. It was clean; good. She turned the water on high, waited for it to get hot, turned the shower on, and stripped. She stepped into the hot water and let it cascade down her sore, tired body. Whoever came up with the rumor that she would melt in water, had to be pretty stupid. How did they think she kept herself clean and healthy? She sighed, pushed the thoughts out of her head, relaxed, and allowed the hot water to wash her stress away.

An hour later, Harry glanced up as Elphaba came back into the room. She was still dressed in the jeans and sweatshirt, but looked much better; not just physically, but mentally as well. She looked relaxed.

Harry smiled at her, "Was the shower the answer to your prayers?" She looked at him and smiled shyly. She was still squeezing water out of her long black hair into the towel.

"It was fine. Sorry I took so long."

"You deserved it. Hey, I got something for you." He stood up and walked over to her, "Put this on." Harry held out a gold-colored necklace with a small black diamond hanging from it.

"Harry," Elphaba was astonished, "you did not have to get me anything." When he merely stood there holding it out to her, she took it. "It's beautiful, thank you." She put it around her neck. "What is the occasion?"

"That necklace is your translation charm." Harry smiled and pointed at his throat with his wand. He took off the translation spell. "Can you still understand me?" he asked her.

Elphaba grinned at him, "Yes, well done Harry. Hermione will be very proud."

"And, I can understand you. You still have an accent from your native language, but I think everyone else will be able to understand you too." Harry smiled back at her. "Well… shall we study a bit?"

"Sure." Harry and Elphaba sat at the table and quizzed each other on the wizarding world.

The two weeks before September first passed pleasantly for Harry and Elphaba. They quizzed each other on spells, enchantments, and potions and shared stories from their lives. Elphaba still had nightmares, but Harry was always there to help her. And, she was always there for Harry whenever the subject of Voldemort and/or Cedric came up. The morning of the day before they traveled to Hogwarts, Harry and Elphaba sat at the table eating breakfast.

"Well, I think it is time for us to venture back into society. I need to get school supplies, and you need clothes. We fixed your dress, and you can wear that, but you need other stuff as well," Harry mentioned once they were done eating.

"What about my skin?" Elphaba asked. She knew she would have to deal with odd looks; she had coped with it every day of her life. But, she still hated it.

"If anyone asks, we'll just say it was a potions accident, and the Healers are working on a cure. It is not harmful in any way; it just changed the color of your skin. The best thing about the wizarding world is that they will believe something ridiculous like that."

"I wish I had had that excuse in Oz." Elphaba was quiet for a minute. "Well, we can't keep that lie up forever, eventually people are going to notice that my skin hasn't changed after a few weeks."

"Well, when I am finally myself and I explain that I've been with you all this time. We will break it to them that this is how you were born, and they will just have to deal with it," Elphaba smiled at the simplicity of it all. She knew it wouldn't be that simple.

"By the way," she asked as they got ready to go out the door. She had donned her black dress again, devoid of any holes, "how are you going to change back to your normal appearance? I don't suppose Snape gave you a counter-spell to undue it."

"No, he didn't," Harry put on his jacket and grabbed the room key, "I've been thinking about the situation for a while now, and I am at a loss of what to do." They walked toward the stairs quite casually. "I guess, if worst comes to worst, we'll just have to walk right up to Snape in the Great Hall and ask him to kindly change me back."

"In front of everyone?" they started down the stairs.

"In front of everyone," Harry said determinedly. They came to the bottom of the stairs and stopped for a few seconds to see how people would react. A few people stared at Elphaba, but when she made eye contact with them, they looked away quickly. "Wish I could do that, when they stared at me," he said out of the corner of his mouth as they started walking toward the back of the bar. "Make them look away with merely a look that says, 'Stop staring at me, you speck of dirt.'"

"It takes years of practice," Elphaba teased lightly. Just as they got to the door, there was a commotion at the other end of the bar that caught their attention.

"Ronald, just hold Crookshanks for a few seconds, while I get my stuff."

"No, he's your deformed cat."

"You are such an idiot, Ron!" the girl huffed as she set Crookshanks down. The cat immediately darted off under the table. "No, Crookshanks come back!" Crookshanks ran out from under a table near Elphaba. Elphaba bent down quickly and scooped the cat up into her arms. Crookshanks struggled a bit, but Elphaba whispered calmly to him, and he started purring. Hermione walked up to Elphaba shyly. "Um, I'm sorry, ma'am. He's a bit wild…" Hermione trailed off when she noticed Elphaba's skin. At this moment, the rest of the Weasley clan, plus Remus and Moody, walked through the door.

Harry had whispered to her who the group was just before she had picked up Crookshanks. She was on her own now, seeing as Harry had pushed himself against the wall and tried to blend into the shadows.

"Oi, Hermione," Ginny yelled across the room, "move your stuff! The rest of us need to get in." Hermione looked a little lost when she had to decide between taking her cat or leaving him to get her stuff. Elphaba took pity on her. "Go get your things, Miss. I'll hold your cat for you." Hermione nodded and headed across the room. Elphaba turned to Harry, "Go out the door and wait for me," she said quietly. Harry nodded and walked out the door.

A few minutes later, after much shouting and Mrs. Weasley trying to accommodate everyone, everyone got settled with their trunks, and were waiting for Remus to make room arrangements. Mrs. Weasley was telling everyone the plan for the day; buying school supplies and sticking in groups. Hermione walked over to Elphaba.

Elphaba had been having a staring contest with a half drunk man who refused to look away from her. "Thank you." Elphaba looked back at the girl, Hermione. "Sorry, I caused so much trouble." Elphaba noticed Hermione was trying not to stare at her skin. Elphaba heard snickering and some rude comments from the redheaded boys, especially the youngest of the boys, Ron.

"It was no trouble at all." Elphaba said quietly when Hermione had blushed angrily at the comments. Hermione looked back at her quickly. "I don't approve of confining animals to cages. They are meant to run free." She handed Crookshanks back to Hermione.

"Guys, I think I just found Hagrid's soul mate. They're perfect for each other." Ron said rather loudly from the table. Hermione's frown deepened and her face turned a shade redder.

"Shut up, Ron." Ginny said as she slapped him upside the head.

"Ouch! Mum!"

"I had better be going." Elphaba said to Hermione, "Take care." She walked out the door and saw Harry waiting for her.

Harry took out his wand and tapped a pattern into the brick wall they were standing at. Elphaba jumped when the first brick moved, and then stared in amazement as a crowded street was revealed behind the wall.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley." Harry said proudly. She smiled at him, and followed when he walked into the crowds. People looked at her strangely but went back to their shopping when she had passed by. Some people, particularly young people, openly stared for a while. But, once Harry and Elphaba were out of sight they went back to their activities. Of course, Elphaba heard whispers about her appearance, but she squared her shoulders and kept walking.

Harry led her to a clothing shop and walked through the door. "Hello! We need to be fitted with robes," he yelled into the store.

"Just a moment, dears," a woman's kind voice floated back to them.

"You'll like this woman. She's quite nice," Harry whispered to Elphaba.

"Well, what have we here, students?" A woman in her mid-fifties walked up to them.

"I'm a student," Harry explained to her, "but, my friend just needs some everyday robes. She's not a student." The woman looked at Elphaba. For a few seconds, she didn't react, but then she smiled at her.

"Of course, we'll get you squared right away, Miss…"

"Thropp," Elphaba gave the woman her name.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Thropp. Well, let's get the two of you measured and then I'll help Miss Thropp pick out some different colors for her personal robes." The woman led them to the back of the store where they were measured. Afterwards, the woman dragged Elphaba to the fabrics section and started asking and recommending colors for her robes. "I'm sorry to ask you this, but will you be green for only a day…"

"My skin was turned green by accident. The Healers are working on a cure, but we don't know how long it will take," Elphaba lied smoothly.

"I see. Well, we will get you some black robes, other brighter colored robes, and we'll color-coordinate with your skin for some other robes. How does that sound?" Elphaba looked at Harry hesitantly. That sounded really expensive.

"Hey, it's not my money, remember? I have no problem spending it all," Harry said from his position against the wall. He was getting slightly bored; he wasn't much of a clothes shopper.

Elphaba noticed his attitude. "Why don't you go get your other school supplies while we work on the clothes?" She suggested to Harry, "I'll wait here if we get done before you get back."

"Alright," Harry sounded relieved, "I'll be back soon. Have fun." Harry walked out the door and down the street. Elphaba watched him go and turned back to the store attendant. The woman was practically bouncing from excitement. Elphaba was reminded of her college roommate.

"Oh, it's been a while since I gave someone a fashion makeover. Come with me…" the woman dragged Elphaba deeper into the fabrics. 'Yes, definitely getting a Glinda vibe from this woman…' Elphaba smiled.

Harry had finished getting his school supplies and was heading back to the clothing store. He had had a few close calls in some of the stores. His friends and other schoolmates were shopping for the same things and happened to notice a student they didn't know. Luckily for him, no one looked too close. However, when he was at the book store, Remus had walked in. Harry turned away toward a bookshelf as Remus walked by, but that didn't stop Remus from smelling him. Because of his werewolf side, Remus had memorized Harry's scent, and at that moment he smelled Harry. Harry tensed but pretended not to notice Remus staring at him from behind.

Eventually, Remus seemed to come to a conclusion and walked deeper into the store without bothering Harry. Since Harry's books had already been bought, he was merely browsing, so he booked it, no pun intended, out of the store. He came to the clothing store and stepped inside. What he saw made his spirits soar. Elphaba was standing off to the side of the room wearing her black dress but had an outer robe on over the dress. The robe was a silky, black that nearly matched her hair and dark blue trimmings on the edges. If it weren't for her green skin, which went well with the blue, she would fit in completely with the wizarding society.

Harry walked up to her and said as much. She smiled at his compliment, "Yes, I think it is nice too. I found over the years that darker colors go much better with green."

"You could try yellow or pink…" Harry suggested, even though he knew what she would say.

"Those colors are too perky," Elphaba said simply as they paid for the clothes. "They don't match my personality anyway."

"Oh, you're right. You're much too shy, moody, and mean to be perky."

"I am not mean," Elphaba shot back quickly. They were nearing the Leaky Cauldron. 'This street is not very big, but it sure can hold a great deal of people.' They were being pushed and squeezed from all sides. Harry had to take Elphaba's hand, just so they wouldn't be separated.

"So, you admit that you are shy and moody," Harry went on.

"I have my reasons. And, allow me to inform you that I can be outgoing."

"When in your life were you ever outgoing?" Harry asked incredulously. He honestly couldn't remember an incident like that during the stories she would tell of her life.

Elphaba looked at him with an annoyed expression, "Fine. Let me rephrase that. I can be out_spoken_ when I want to be."

Harry thought about that as he led them back into the Leaky Cauldron. "I can see that." They dropped their stuff off in their room, and walked back down to the dining area. They decided they would brave the public to have lunch downstairs, but Harry sat with his back to the room. So, Elphaba was the one in charge of warning Harry of any situations that could potentially blow their cover. For instance, the Weasley clan plus Hermione, Remus, Moody, and Hagrid were all sitting at their own table not far from Harry and Elphaba. They were close enough that they could hear the conversations at the table.

Elphaba was able to pick out each of Harry's friends by his description of them, physically and emotionally. Hermione was browned-haired and intelligent. Ron was the tallest of the Weasley family and a bit of an oaf, but could be clever when he needed to be, which would explain his skills at chess. Ginny Weasley was the youngest out of the whole group, but she was also intelligent and good with enchantments and spells. Fred and George Weasley, the twins, were obviously the jokesters of the family, but were just about as clever as their younger brother, but more mischievous. Mrs. Weasley was the overly loving mother of _everyone_. Remus was the middle-aged man/werewolf, who always looked tired and underfed, but had a kind, quietly intelligent attitude about him. He apparently had been Harry's third-year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Hagrid was the largest and loudest of the group, a half-giant if Elphaba remembered correctly, and was the grounds-keeper and professor of the Care of Magical Creatures class at Hogwarts. The last man, Moody, put Elphaba on edge. He had a very strict, almost unkind, countenance, and was always on alert; looking for signs of trouble. Unfortunately for Elphaba, Moody found her very interesting, considering the fact he kept looking at her, and at other times, staring at her critically. His magical eye never once left her face, even when she looked right back at him to let him know she had noticed him staring. She told Harry as much and he suggested they get done eating as soon as possible and return to their room.

While eating though, they were able to listen to the conversations about Harry.

"Hermione, I am sure Harry is fine," Ron said earnestly. He was getting tired of Hermione's worrying.

"But, he said he would see us on September first, and he hasn't contacted us to tell us where we will see him."

"Well, obviously, he will find us. Besides, he said he would see us, therefore talk to us, on September first, not August thirty-first." Ron took another bite of his pie. Hermione looked disgustedly at Ron, and then turned to Ginny who had the same feelings as Hermione.

"I smelled Harry's sent today in Flourish and Blotts. Either he has been there recently, which would make sense because he needed to buy his textbooks…" Remus started.

"Or, it means he was there today, but looked different," Moody finished for him. "However, I don't think Potter ever learned transformation spells other than the Polyjuice Potion, and we all know Potter isn't that great at Potions. That means he has had help from someone more experienced than him."

"Then someone he trusts, therefore we must trust, must know where he is." Hermione added. She smacked her forehead, "Why didn't I think of that." She got up.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked her.

"I'm going to write Harry a letter," she answered.

"And say what?" Ron asked, "'Hey, Harry, I just figured out that someone we both know has known where you are the whole time. Who is it?' So, you can go interrogate that person the day before Harry is going to show up on his own. Honestly, it is not gonna be much help now. I recommend we just wait until tomorrow, and ask him ourselves."

"Oh, so it is not possible that Harry could be in a dirty cell being tortured by You-Know-Who, or lying in a ditch rotting?" Hermione asked angrily.

"Harry said he was fine," Ron shot back heatedly.

"It is completely possible that Death-eaters could have sent that letter, just to make us believe Harry was safe."

"Come off it already, Hermione." Ron sighed, "We've heard this idea of yours hundreds of times. He is fine." Ron enunciated the last three words of his comeback.

"I can't believe you, Ron. Your best friend could be dead, and you couldn't be bothered. Some friend you are. Come Ginny, let's go upstairs." Hermione dragged Ginny upstairs.

"Girls worry too much," Ron said to know one in particular.

"Well, I for one agree with Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said with a disapproving look at her youngest son.

"You are of the female gender just like Hermione, Mum," Said one of the twins. Elphaba couldn't tell them apart. "It is natural that you agree with the girls." Mrs. Weasley turned her glare on him. A few seconds passed then, "You are completely right, Mum. Harry is in mortal peril." He turned to Ron, "Shame on you for not caring."

"Thanks for backing me up, I really appreciate it," Ron said dryly.

"I think we should exit stage left," Harry whispered to Elphaba. She nodded as they rose from their seats and walked back to their room. Elphaba could feel Moody's stare from across the room.

"Why would anyone dare walk out in public looking like that?" Elphaba heard Ron half-whisper to the twins.

"Ronald, that is quite enough. Remember she helped Hermione when you refused to," Mrs. Weasley berated her son.

"I think she's kind of pretty," one of the twins commented.

"She already has a boyfriend, Gred. Didn't you notice the guy sitting with her?" said the other twin.

"That boy was too young for her," Remus commented offhandedly. He smelled Harry's scent again, and was looking around the room.

"I still have a chance then," Fred clapped his hands together.

"She is also too old for you too, Fred." Remus turned his attention back to the group. Harry was gone. "She has to be in her mid-twenties at least."

Elphaba stormed up the stairs. "At least…" she fumed. "I don't look old, do I?" She turned to Harry.

"No….no…You look…you look…. Well, you do have a few stress lines," Harry gulped at her look, "They add character, and, um, make you look slightly older. But, you still look young, I mean. If I were a little older…" Harry stopped talking all together when she raised both her eyebrows expectedly. He looked away and hoped she had looked away too. After a few seconds, he looked back. She was still staring at him with a look that said, 'Please, go on,' in a very offended way. "I'm just going to stop talking."

"That would be a wise decision," she said sharply. They walked the rest of the way to their room and started packing.

Later that evening, both of them were sitting at the table reading. Elphaba was reading Hogwarts, A History, and Harry was scoffing at the new DADA textbook he had gotten for the year.

"Do they expect us to never have to defend ourselves? Do they think the world is wonderful, and everything is perfect? That nothing is wrong?" Harry sneered.

Elphaba looked up from her book and got a faraway look in her eyes, "I know someone who could probably convince everyone of that lie."

"I would like to meet this Glinda someday, if it were ever possible. I think she would be a fun person to talk to. What is she like?"

Elphaba smiled a little remembering her first encounter with Glinda, "Blonde."

Harry stared at her, "That's it?"

Elphaba resumed reading, "That's it."

The next morning Harry and Elphaba were ready to go. Their stuff was packed on trolleys, but they had one more thing to take care of.

"Harry, we are going into the muggle world, right?" Harry nodded at her; not seeing the problem. "Harry, green skin," she gestured to her face, "everywhere. People are going to get odd thoughts."

"I have a solution. Here put this on." Harry handed her a black, pointed witches' hat. It wasn't the one she used to wear, but it was close. "If anyone bothers to ask, I'll just say you love Halloween and couldn't wait for it."

"And, that I'm sick in the head?" Elphaba added.

"Yeah, that too."

"Fine, I won't talk to anyone then," she shoved the hat on her head and looked at Harry. He was grinning.

"You look absolutely wicked," he grabbed his stuff and head for the door. The train station wasn't far from the Leaky Cauldron. They would walk. Elphaba couldn't help but look in a window to see her appearance. She almost looked like she had in Oz, almost.

The two of them got to the train station with relatively no trouble. There were plenty of stares, of course, and there was one slightly unkempt man that came up and started yelling at Elphaba; waving the Bible in her face, but Harry pulled her away and kept walking.

"I can't believe that man," Harry was complaining as they walked toward the barrier for platform 9 ¾ .

"Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs," she said unfazed by the interaction. She had dealt with that kind of reaction all her life; it was bound to happen here as well. She stopped when she noticed Harry walking toward a brick wall. "Harry, watch out! You are going straight at that wall."

He looked at her and smiled, "Yeah, this is the entrance to the platform." She looked at the signs and they were indeed between platforms 9 and 10. "Come on. The train leaves at exactly eleven o'clock; we don't want to be late. Just walk toward the wall and you'll go right through it. Just follow behind me." Harry walked right at the brick wall and disappeared through it. Elphaba wasn't sure she could do that.

"Come along, everyone. Keep up," Elphaba looked behind her and saw the Weasley's plus the others coming up behind her. Moody had already started to notice her. She gritted her teeth and walked at the wall. At the last moment, she closed her eyes and prayed she wouldn't slam into the wall. But, when that didn't happen, she opened her eyes to see a bright red train with smoke coming out of the front.

"What do you think?" Harry asked grinning at her. Her face was priceless. He was pretty sure he looked the same way in his first year. Elphaba smiled at his pride and walked toward the train. The platform was crowded with people, students and parents.

"Bye, Mum, don't forget to feed Snowball…"

"Dad, please stop crying, I'll write every month…"

"Lewis, make sure you brush your teeth every day."

Elphaba wheeled her cart through the throng of people to a door on the train; older students were there helping to load the luggage. The students also grabbed her luggage and threw onto to the train easily; they didn't even take the time to notice her, which suited her just fine. Elphaba turned to Harry and found he wasn't next to her. She looked around, but he wasn't anywhere near her. She didn't dare call out for him, because he was currently in hiding. At that thought, she realized she was looking for the black-haired Harry and not the dirty-blonde Harry. Looking around more carefully, Elphaba noticed he was waving at her from a little ways down the platform. He was gesturing to a door and moving to step inside.

Elphaba jogged to catch up with him, but accidentally bumped into someone. She nearly fell, but someone caught her arm and righted her. She turned to apologize but the words caught in her throat.

"Watch yourself, lass," Alastor Moody said gruffly. He was studying her much too closely and had yet to let go of her arm.

"I am sorry, sir. I will be more careful next time," Elphaba wished she didn't sound so foreign at that point. She could see Moody becoming more suspicious of her every second.

"You're not from around here are you?" Moody's grip tightened slightly. "Where are you from?"

Elphaba steeled her nerves, "Forgive my rudeness sir, but I do not believe that is any of your business." She did not mention his grip on her arm, even though it was becoming painful. She would not show fear or weakness to this man.

"You headed to Hogwarts, Miss…"

"Yes, I wish to speak to Albus Dumbledore." Elphaba didn't give him her name; he would learn it soon enough. "I want to speak to him about a teaching post at the school."

"There aren't any openings at the school at this time," his grip tightened even more. Elphaba's hand was starting to go numb.

"I am aware of that, but I wish to speak to him about adding a class to the school."

"I see, and what class will you be promoting?"

"Wandless magic for the fourth through seventh year students," Elphaba informed him calmly. Even though Harry hadn't thought that far ahead, she did. She figured that would be the only thing she could teach. The whistle blew for the train's departure. Elphaba broke eye contact to glance at the train.

"Thank you for your help, sir. But, I must board the train; it is leaving." Moody stared hard at her for another few seconds, but relented and let go of her arm. It would bruise. Elphaba turned swiftly and dashed for the door where Harry stood. The train started to move. She picked up her skirts and reached out for Harry's outstretched hand.

She grabbed onto his hand and leapt while he hauled her onto the train. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her the rest of the way in just as the door they were at passed from the platform into the tunnel.

"That was close," Harry said as they righted themselves, "You could have been smashed by that wall if you were just a second too late getting a hold of my hand. What took you so long anyways? I saw you having a heated conversation slash staring contest with Moody. Congratulations, I think you won the round."

Elphaba looked around her and noticed some students were listening to the conversation while staring at her. "Let's find a compartment." Harry noticed her nervousness and nodded. He led the way through the train. People stopped talking and stared as they passed by, and whispered and pointed, but Elphaba gave them no mind.

Harry finally found an empty compartment near the end of the train. 'Good,' Elphaba thought, 'I was starting to lose my patience.' They stored their luggage on the racks and sat down opposite each other.

"How do you do that?" Harry asked suddenly. Elphaba looked at him confused.

"Do what?"

"Ignore people even though they are obviously staring, pointing, and whispering about you. I get so annoyed when people do that to me. Do you not care?"

Elphaba looked down at her hands, "I do care," she answered simply after a few minutes of silence. "I just pretend not to." Harry didn't have anything to say to that. 'Sounds… lonely.' He thought sadly to himself.

"So," Harry started up after a few more minutes of silence, "You going to tell me what you and Moody were so passionately discussing? A secret meeting under the moonlight, perhaps?" Elphaba threw her hat at Harry.

"No, actually, I was coming up with an idea that might allow me to stay at Hogwarts rather than escort you there and get thrown out just as quickly."

"I see. And, what might that idea be?" Harry asked intrigued.

"An elective class for Wandless magic," Elphaba answered.

"Sounds fascinating. What are your plans?"


	6. Chapter 6

A few hours later, evening was falling and the train was slowing its speed. Hogmeade was dead ahead.

"And now, the fun begins," Harry stated as they headed out once the train had stopped moving.

"Yes, I am a complete stranger, and you still look different. What's the plan?" Elphaba whispered into his ear.

"I say we ride the carriages to the school like everybody else, file into the Great Hall like everybody else…"

"And sit down; like everybody else?" Elphaba interrupted him testily.

"No, I was going to say we march right up to Snape and demand that he change me back. And, while we are up there, we can introduce you to Dumbledore."

"I am sure that will go over very well." Elphaba said sarcastically. They boarded a carriage being pulled by strange horses. Harry looked strangely at them, but didn't comment.

"You're not going mad," said a voice behind them. Harry and Elphaba looked at a girl with long blonde hair, and a peculiar magazine in her hands. "I can see them too."

"I'm telling you, Ron. Something bad has happened to him." Hermione ranted as she, Ron, Ginny, and another black-haired boy climbed into the carriage.

"Oh, give it a rest Hermione. He will probably make a grand entrance like he does every other year." Ron sighed. Elphaba nearly laughed as Harry tensed considerably next to her. Ron sat next to the blonde girl, and Ginny sat next to Ron. Hermione sat across from Ginny and that left the black-haired boy to sit next to Elphaba. Fortunately or unfortunately, Elphaba couldn't decide at that moment, the boy was so entranced by Ron and Hermione's squabbling that he didn't notice Elphaba right away. When he did notice her, it was… an interesting experience.

Elphaba had turned her head completely to the side to study the boy's face, and smiled a little when Hermione noticed her. The boy noticed Hermione's gaze and looked at Elphaba. By his reaction, Elphaba was sure she had scarred him for life.

The boy screamed a very high-pitched scream, shoved away from Elphaba, and into Hermione. He nearly ended up in Hermione's lap, but Hermione pushed him onto the floor of the carriage before he got that far.

"Neville, calm down. You nearly gave us a heart attack." Hermione said with a hand to her heart.

Elphaba wasn't amused, but she could feel Harry shaking from silent laughter next to her. She nearly turned to Harry to express her frustration, but Neville spoke up.

"You guys nearly had a heart attack! What about me?! She's green for Heaven's sake." Elphaba didn't miss the fact that Neville refused to come anywhere near her. Elphaba opened her mouth to retort, but the blonde girl beat her to it.

"And what a lovely shade of green it is," she girl said with a slightly dazed tone, "Were you bitten by a Blibbering Humdinger? If you are bitten, they can change your skin color to any color they want." Elphaba stared at the strange girl. Did her translation charm suddenly act up, or did the girl actually say something completely insane?

"Everyone this is Luna Lovegood," Hermione said stiffly. "Blibbering Humdinger's don't exist."

"They exist alright, but they are very shy, so no one has any evidence of their existence. But, they do exist," Luna said to no one in particular.

"Moving on," Ron commented as he allowed Neville to sit next to him. "What are _you_ doing here?" he asked Elphaba in a very accusatory tone.

"I am here to ask Headmaster Dumbledore a question," Elphaba answered vaguely.

"Care to elaborate?" Ron said rudely.

Elphaba looked at him with a look that she hoped said, 'Back off, boy!' "No."

The rest of the ride passed in tense silence. 'Apparently,' Harry thought idly, 'Elphaba's tone and posture screams, 'I'm older and more experienced than you, don't mess with me.' That's great seeing as she intends to teach. She will probably rival Snape in the classroom by the end of the week.'

Snape watched as the second through seventh year students began to file into the Great Hall. He wondered what Potter and Elphaba were planning to do. He never did give Potter the counter-spell to change his appearance, and Potter never asked. So, as far as he knew, Potter still had brown hair, brown eyes, and no scar. He also wondered how they planned to have Elphaba stay at Hogwarts. The only option he saw was having her teach her 'oh so wonderful' skills with wandless magic, as he abruptly found out about first-hand.

"_Elphaba, I need to apply this salve to your wounds. It will speed up the healing process by days. You will merely have scars within three days. Will you allow me to apply it?" She had refused and said no. He rephrased and said she either had to put the salve on or die. But, she did have the option between himself and Harry. She had said no again, and he finally lost his patience. _

_He had drawn his wand to put the Full Body-Bind Curse on her, when he was suddenly thrown backwards by an invisible force. He slammed into the wall as he heard his clothes rip from the magic force that kept him pinned against the wall. Honestly, if the situation were different he would have stared in complete shock at the amount of power she possessed, but his fighting instincts kicked in too quickly. Once he felt the wall of magic weaken, he jumped back to his feet before she could do anything else, like snatch his wand out of his hand._

_He placed the curse on her and walked over. The next hour was extremely embarrassing for her, if the tears in her eyes were anything for him to go by. But, he admired her will to be strong. He knew that will would come in handy in the future, whether it was used facing down the Dark Lord or stares from the wizarding public. Once he had finished he dressed her and stood a little ways away from her._

"_Potter will be the one to apply the salve tomorrow," he had said calmly. "I know you probably aren't listening to me, but I will say this anyway. I don't know where you came from, how you got here, or how you came to be so damaged, but I think you are a good person, no matter who said and thought otherwise. I know you probably have trust issues because of recent events, but trust Potter. He is a good, loyal young man, if not a blockhead at times. He'll take care of you. Take care, Elphaba. I feel sure we'll meet again."_

_Snape felt slightly dejected when she refused to acknowledge him, but pushed it to the back of his mind. 'She will thank me one day.' He turned on his heel and marched out the door. _

Snape smirked to himself. He couldn't wait to see the other's faces when they saw what she could do. He wondered how much power she planned on showing them. She seemed smart enough to know the benefits of keeping her true strength a secret.

"What are you smirking about, Severus?" McGonagall asked.

"I was just thinking about all the fun we are all going to have this year. New students, new teachers, and the wonderful fact that a certain thorn in my side has not shown up yet," Snape glanced over at his coworker to see her reaction. McGonagall's face was a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Is that so?" she asked slowly.

"Well, I think Professor Snape's positivity is what everyone of the staff should have. It would be a relief to the new students," Snape and McGonagall looked down at the witch between them, whom they had ignored until now. The woman was short and had an annoyingly sugar-sweet, girlish voice, and she was currently breaking all the fashion rules about wearing too much of one irritatingly bright color; pink.

"I don't believe we welcomed you to this conversation, Umbridge," Snape sneered. He hated the woman; he didn't like the too nice vibe he was getting from her. No good ever came of people like this. Dolores Umbridge looked pleasingly appalled at his insult.

"Don't take it too seriously, Dolores," Snape detected a hint of coldness in McGonagall's words, even though she was "consoling" the woman, "Severus is rude to everyone." Umbridge didn't seem to notice though, and promptly turned her back on Snape to talk to McGonagall. He grinned wickedly at McGonagall over Umbridge's head to say, 'Look at the situation you just got yourself into; now you have to talk to her.'

Harry peered into the Great Hall. Elphaba was casually leaning against the wall next to him waiting for his report. She felt nervous, but she didn't show it. They were already getting odd looks from just about every student that walked past them. Harry finally turned to her.

"Okay, Snape is there, but Dumbledore isn't. What should we do?" Elphaba looked at the students filing into the room.

"Ask one of the younger students to get him to come out here," she suggested. Harry spotted a second year boy and stopped him,

"Hey, get Snape out here; we have a situation," Harry said in as a commanding tone as possible. He found that kids listened more if the upperclassmen were bossy rather than nice.

"Get him yourself," the boy sneered. Elphaba stepped forward out of the shadows she had been hiding in.

"Go get Snape," she said in a cold, flat tone. The boy paled considerably and ran through the door. Harry peered around the door to see how everything went.

Snape noticed a boy running straight for him like death was chasing after the boy. 'And, now the fun begins.' The boy, a Ravenclaw, skidded to a halt.

"Professor Snape," he said breathlessly, "There are two people outside the door that want to talk to you. One's a fourth or fifth year student, but the other is…is…scary, and…odd… looking." The boy trailed off, waiting for Snape's reaction. All the other professors were watching the two of them.

"Really?" Snape feigned delighted surprise, "Someone wants to talk to me? Who could it be?" He looked pointedly at McGonagall. He got up from his chair and followed the boy out. The boy pointed to the two standing against the wall looking at him expectantly, and bolted back into the Great Hall. Snape gestured for them to follow him into an empty room.

Once inside, he shut the door and turned to them with a satisfied smirk. "Well, congratulations. You both made it unharmed. Elphaba, you're walking, that is a wonderful thing." She frowned at his tone. "And, Potter, you have yet to make yourself known, when do you plan on doing so? We are at Hogwarts after all."

"Why are you so… chipper?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"I am looking forward to everyone's reaction when you walk into the Great Hall as if nothing has happened. But, I'm looking forward even more to everyone's reaction when Elphaba follows me up to the professors' table and sits down."

"Yes, me too," said a cheery voice from the corner. The three of them wheeled around. Snape and Harry felt the magic in the air tense as Elphaba used it to her advantage to make a shield instantly. The shield shimmered as light and shadows played off of it. "Interesting…" Snape and Harry immediately lowered their wands when Headmaster Albus Dumbledore walked toward them. Elphaba, however, did not let down the shield even after she recognized him from her studies. She did not trust him yet. Dumbledore walked to the shield and held his hand up to it. He got a slight shock for his trouble. He circled the shield and found that it encompassed all three of them with no weaknesses. "Interesting…" he said again, "I can see why Severus thinks you should teach here, young lady. May we talk?"

Elphaba looked at Harry; he looked complacent enough. She lowered the shield, but did not let her guard down. Dumbledore took a step toward her, and she took a step back to keep the distance. Conveniently, Harry was behind her, so he went back with her. Dumbledore, to Elphaba's surprise, smiled at the cold attitude she was showing him.

Dumbledore looked at Snape, "She reminds me of you, Severus. You always have been rather protective of your own." He looked back at Elphaba. "The strangest thing happened a few hours ago. Alastor Moody stormed into my office raging about a green woman who wanted to talk to me about teaching a new class. At the end of his rant, he turned to me and asked why I hadn't informed him. And, I said, 'Because my dear man, I know nothing about this supposed green woman and a new class.' He looked a bit stunned at first, but then started going on and on about how dangerous this woman could be… which by the looks of it, he was right; and, that we needed to take action and not let her into the school. But, I told him to wait in my office, and if he heard chaos in the Great Hall, then he could take action. However, I see no harm in allowing an elective class to start up. I do believe the students may actually enjoy it." Dumbledore finished and looked at Elphaba expectantly.

'What is he expecting, for me to grovel at his feet? Not likely.' Elphaba thought derisively. "Thank you, Headmaster," was all she said. Dumbledore smiled,

"Oh good, we are making progress and moving on to communication," he waved his hand fluidly and turned to Snape, "Severus, turn Harry back if you please, and then you all can follow me back into the Great Hall. What may I call you in public, Elphaba? Professor, of course, but may I ask what your last name is?"

"Thropp."

"Well, Professor Thropp, I am delighted to welcome you to Hogwarts. We'll talk more after the feast." Elphaba nodded to show she understood.

"What was that fancy handwork for, Headmaster?" Harry asked as his hair turned black, his eyes took on their normal bright green color, and his scar reappeared on his forehead. Elphaba smiled to herself, she had missed his real appearance.

"Oh, I merely added an extra chair and place setting to the professors' table next to Severus's seat. I'm sure all the professors are very confused."

"I have to sit next to him?" Elphaba asked as they walked out of the room and into the hall. They stopped just before the open doors; the hall was buzzing with hundreds of students' voices.

"Trust me; I am not looking forward to it either," the two of them stubbornly held each other's gazes for a few seconds. Eventually Snape relented and turned to Harry, "Potter, go straight to your friends when we walk in, and try to look like you snuck in behind us; trying not to be noticed. The less connections people can make between you and Elphaba the better. In fact, walk in a few seconds after us."

"Yes, sir," Harry gave him a mock salute. Elphaba suddenly turned to Harry and adjusted his Gryffindor tie and smoothed out some wrinkles on his shoulders. She smiled at him encouragingly. "What was that, a last show of affection?" Harry asked after she had stepped back.

Elphaba gave him a small smile, "Yes, in a way. We don't know each other once we step through those doors."

Realization dawned on Harry, "Oh, right." He said rather dejectedly. "We'll see each other in class, and… stuff."

"Don't look so sad, Harry," Dumbledore said cheerfully, "you can go discuss homework and class work during her office hours, and really have tea and catch up."

"Yes, and then you can share makeup tips and share each other's feelings," Snape mocked. Snape turned on his heel and headed for the door; Dumbledore followed right behind. Elphaba watched them go for a split second and turned back to Harry. She leaned in close to him,

"Thank you for everything, Harry," she kissed him on the cheek and walked off after Dumbldore and Snape. Harry followed after them in a slight daze.


	7. Chapter 7

**(A/N) Hey everyone, I am so sorry for the long wait. **** This last semester in college is killing me. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I have been writing, so even though I'm just posting one chapter right now, I will have others to post soon. Thank you everyone for all your reviews and your support. Enjoy!^^**

Elphaba was following about a foot behind Dumbledore and Snape. As they started to turn into the Great Hall, she felt her stomach flutter nervously. She felt all eyes turn to their group instantly even though they hadn't registered her specifically, yet. That didn't last long though. Whispers and some not so quiet comments were heard throughout the hall.

"Why is that woman green?" a boy asked as they walked by.

"Who is she?"

"How in the world can she show herself in public with that skin?" said a girl wearing very expensive looking jewelry.

"She didn't even bother to try to hide it…She's not even wearing makeup," said a girl wearing far too much makeup for her age.

"I think she's kind of pretty even with the green skin…"

"Why is she here?" was the general question next to the exclamations at her skin color.

"You think someone would have noticed her in the world before now, with that skin of hers. Wonder where she came from?"

"Fred! It's our new crush!" yelled George Weasley. Elphaba willed herself not to look at them.

"By George, you're right!"

"I saw her first, she's mine," Fred exclaimed suddenly.

"No, I saw her first, in the Leaky Cauldron!"

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"There is only one way to solve this… Rock, Paper, Scissors." Elphaba couldn't stop herself after that comment; she glanced over at them. They happened to look back at her at that exact moment, and their eyes locked. They grinned and waved to her excitedly. Elphaba reluctantly smiled at their enthusiasm and looked away quickly. Ron and Ginny, she noticed, were trying in vain to pretend they weren't related to the twins. "Hah! She smiled! Point for us!"

"Guys, stop," Ginny growled out, "You're embarrassing us!"

"Awww, Ginny lighten up…"

"HARRY!" Hermione squealed.

Elphaba turned as both Dumbledore and Snape turned to watch the ensuing chaos of students clambering out of their seats to see the famous Harry Potter safe and sound. Hermione had apparently launched out of her chair and was currently clinging to Harry. Other students got up to shake his hand. Ron had gotten up to clap him on the back, the twins were ruffling his already messy hair, and Ginny was standing to the side smiling shyly.

"Let's make our way to the table unnoticed now," Elphaba heard Dumbledore say behind her. She felt Snape's hand on her shoulder to guide her through the scrambling students. The three of them made it to the professor's table without any incidences.

Elphaba noticed that half of the professors were still in shock over Harry's sudden appearance, but the other half were over their shock and were looking at her with questions in their eyes. One in particular was staring daggers at Snape, while another, dressed in too much pink, was staring at Elphaba with loathing and disgust in her eyes.

Dumbledore walked to his seat in the middle of the table, while Snape pulled out her chair in a gentlemanly fashion and pushed in her chair when she sat down. Then he took his own seat, much to Elphaba's relief, next to the woman dressed in pink. Elphaba followed Snape's lead and sat in silence even though more than half the table was staring at her rather suspiciously now.

They all watched the milling students for a few more minutes. When it was apparent they weren't going to take their seats, Dumbledore held his wand to his throat and called out kindly,

"Everyone, please take your seats. I'm sure Mr. Potter will answer all your questions in due time. You have all year, after all." There were more than a few chuckles from the students, as they took their seats. The hall stilled buzzed with voices though.

Dumbledore leaned toward McGonagall and whispered something to her. Elphaba watched curiously as she stood and headed out a side door. Five minutes later, Hagrid came through the same door and sat down in his seat. One minute after that, McGonagall walked through the double doors at the other end of the hall, leading a group of very young looking students. Most of them, Elphaba noticed had looks of awe mixed with terror on their faces. The new students, she presumed.

Once McGonagall led the students to the front of the hall, she placed a withered hat on a small wooden stool and unrolled a scroll with some writing on it. "When I call your name," McGonagall announced, "you will come forward, I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. … Brown, James…" Once the hat sorted all of the new students into their respective houses, McGonagall carried the stool and hat through a door next to the professors' table and returned to her seat. Then Dumbledore stood,

"I have some announcements," he paused and smiled slightly as some of the older students groaned and complained about being hungry. Elphaba silently berated them thinking, 'Be happy, at least you aren't starving while on the run…' "But, those can wait until after we've all been fed and watered. Dig in." Dumbledore finished and waved his hands dramatically. Food instantly appeared on all of the tables, much to the delight of older students and surprised delight from the younger ones. Elphaba was just as surprised as the rest of them, but didn't let it show. She watched as the students snatched different kinds of food and ate it just as quickly. She was slightly appalled at their lack in manners. She looked at the other professors. They also had food on their plates, but were much more reserved in actually placing the food on their plates. She of course would follow the professors' examples, but she was still a bit nervous. She hated eating in public areas.

"Just take whatever you think you might like, and leave the rest. If you are too nervous about eating in front of others, you can always call the elves and ask for food later," Snape whispered to her so no one could hear him. He obviously noticed her hesitation. She looked at his plate as she reached for some fruits; he barely had anything on his plate. He noticed her look, "I don't eat much as it is, but I also don't enjoy being on display while I eat. But, we are still role models for the students to follow. At first glance, none of them seem to follow proper etiquette, but if you watch them a little more, you will notice some students, especially the younger, newer ones, are constantly looking to us to see what they need to do. So, even though you don't eat much, you still need to act the part."

"I understand, thank you," she said quietly. She looked at a few other food choices, but none of them looked particularly appealing to her at the moment. She looked around the room again, and noticed Harry talking animatedly with his friends. He happened to glance up at her when no one was talking to him, he didn't smile outright at her, but his eyes said everything he needed to tell her. She could tell, he was at home here, this was his family, and he was happy to share it with her. She looked back at her food, and picked at it.

"Harry," Hermione didn't miss the look Harry gave the green woman at the professors' table, "Where have you been? We've all been worried sick."

"I told you, Hermione." Harry said, "I was at the Dursley's the whole time. You know the lengths a certain reporter will go just to get a story on the front page." Harry's Gryffindor housemates accepted his statement and started talking to others, but Hermione still looked suspicious as she made sure he saw the look she gave him as she glanced from him to Elphaba and back to him. Harry also glanced at Elphaba, and he knew that gave him away. He gave Hermione the, 'I'll tell you later," look and started eating again.

Elphaba witnessed the silent conversation between the two friends. She liked Hermione. She turned her attention to the third member of their little group. Ron was currently stuffing his face; oblivious to the situations around him. She turned away slightly repulsed, but she would try to accept him as a friend in time.

"So, Severus," she heard a simpering sweet voice pipe up on the other side of Snape, "Do you know anything about the rather sickly looking woman next to you? I do hope whatever she has isn't contagious."

"I do not know, Professor Umbridge. Why don't you ask her yourself? She is sitting right next to me, as you say," Snape sneered. Umbridge smiled sweetly at him and leaned forward, so she could look at Elphaba.

"Tell me, dear," Elphaba looked at Umbridge slowly; she could already feel her loathing for this woman building up in her chest. "What happened to make you green? Certainly you will get your normal color back soon?"

Elphaba considered being rude to the woman and pointing out that she didn't first ask for her name, but thought it might be better to start out on slightly better terms. "I won't be 'changing back' to my old skin color because this _is_ my skin color. I was born this way." Elphaba said as politely as possible. However, she didn't smile; she kept a straight face, for she feared it would morph into a sneer much like Snape's.

"I see," Umbridge said sympathetically, but Elphaba could hear the disgust laced in her 'soothing' tone. "How unfortunate for you; you must have had a hard childhood." Elphaba didn't deem that comment worthy of an answer.

"What class will you be teaching, Professor Umbridge?" Elphaba asked civilly. Umbridge opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a ringing sound. McGonagall was lightly hitting her fork on her wine glass. The Hall fell into silence.

Dumbledore rose from his chair. "I hope you all are satisfied with your dinners. I know you all must be quite tired, but please indulge an old man to talk a little longer. I have a few announcements. Mr. Filch has asked me once again to remind you all that magic is prohibited in the hallways and outside of class. The Forbidden Forest is obviously forbidden, hence its name. Please do not take my warning lightly; the forest is filled with dangerous creatures, and we don't want any of you to come to any harm. Finally, I would like to welcome two new members to the staff. First, Professor Dolores Umbridge, from the Ministry of Magic will be filling in the post for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class." The students clapped as the teachers clapped, but it didn't last long. They were all used to getting a new DADA teacher every year. "And second, I would like to welcome Professor Elphaba Thropp, who will be teaching an elective class for fourth through seventh year students. I will allow Professor Thropp to tell you of the details of her class tomorrow." The students clapping lasted longer than Umbridge's welcome. Elphaba guessed that they were excited to have something new to look forward to. "Good luck, Professors. Now everyone, off to bed."

As one body, the students stood from their chairs. The loud buzz of hundreds of voices started up as the students filed out of the Great Hall to their respective Houses. The professors stayed in their seats until all the students left. As soon as the last student left and the doors closed,

"Albus, I would like an explanation," Minerva fumed as she stood and glared down at Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled benignly up at her and stood as well.

"Why Minerva dear, an explanation of what? I, of course, will try to answer you to the best of my ability." Elphaba was under the impression that this wasn't the first time Professor McGonagall spoke to Dumbledore in this fashion. In fact, it seemed like it happened quite a lot.

"About what!? Albus, you added another class and teacher to the staff without informing anyone; not even me; your Deputy Head Mistress."

"I must agree with Minerva," Umbridge piped in. McGonagall gave her a scathing look, but Umbridge ignored it. Umbridge, along with the rest of the staff, stood, "You did not inform the Ministry of your decision. No one even knows if Miss Thropp has the credentials or skills to teach. Moreover, we haven't a clue what she is going to teach. Last time I checked, all the posts were filled and any other subjects are already being taught."

Elphaba listened to the conversation in dread. Umbridge was right; she didn't have the skills or credentials to teach. She wasn't good with children in the first place; she was too impatient. What's more, the students were learning how to use magic with their wands. What good was her sort of magic?

"Well, why don't we have a little demonstration?" Dumbledore suggested. He looked at Elphaba expectantly. Elphaba tensed as everyone looked at her.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked as strongly as she could.

"Hmm," Dumbledore glanced around the room and at the teachers. His eyes finally came back to rest on Elphaba. Suddenly, he drew his wand and pointed at her, "Stupefy!"

Elphaba reacted without thinking. She threw her arms up in front of her face in a defensive stance; instantly a shield flew up to block the spell and it rebounded harmlessly against a wall. Once Elphaba had gotten over her surprise, she lowered her arms slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Snape smirking slightly. Dumbledore was openly smiling and most of the other teachers looked surprised but impressed. However, Umbridge's face heightened Elphaba's confidence the most. She looked shocked and slightly frightened.

Elphaba lowered her arms completely as she gained more confidence. It was the same confidence she felt for herself at Shiz. It was a confidence in her ability to take care of herself and stand up to adversity in any form. She looked back at Dumbledore with eyes unfaltering; unwavering. A wind whistled through the Hall just then, and another teacher spoke up with a hoarse voice.

"Something _wicked _this way comes…" The woman had large round glasses that magnified her eyes and hair that stood out from her head. She smelled of heavy perfume and incense.

"Pay no attention to Professor Trelawney, dear." McGonagall whispered to Elphaba, "She teaches Divination, pointless class." Elphaba couldn't find it in her to agree with the stern witch. Trelawney stared at Elphaba with haunted eyes; as if she could see the things Elphaba had done in the past. Elphaba shivered slightly. But, then Trelawney blinked out of her stupor and went back to adjusting her shawls incessantly.

"Well," Umbridge seemed to have regained her composure, "that is quite a difficult and dangerous skill to have. Dumbledore, are you sure you want the student body to know how to use magic without their wands? It would be chaos in the halls; students using magic to take revenge on one another without their wands. It would only benefit them because we wouldn't know who did what. I don't think this is a smart idea. I suggest you reconsider your decision."

All the professors looked at Dumbledore. He was smiling politely at Umbridge. "As the Headmaster of this school, I have the final say on who gets to teach here. You were put here by the Ministry simply because I couldn't find a suitable replacement for the DADA class quickly enough. Professor Thropp has a skill that I believe all witches and wizards should grasp some day. With the oncoming events of the Dark Lord's return…."

"Surely, you don't still believe _he_ has returned." Umbridge interrupted him rudely. "Potter was lying just to get more attention, as he always does."

"I have always believed the Dark Lord would return someday. Mr. Potter has just confirmed my beliefs into evidence…"

"You would believe the word of a grief-stricken, adolescent boy who was lying atop his dead classmate's chest?" Umbridge asked incredulously, "The boy's mind was probably so out of sorts that he didn't know what he saw."

Dumbledore waited for her to finish. "I wholeheartedly believe he is back. I have no doubts in Mr. Potter or my own mind. As I was saying before, Professor Thropp's skills in wandless magic could be just the answer to many worried parents prayers. If the students are able to defend themselves against magic even without a wand, I believe there will be much less casualties in the coming months."

"CASUALTIES! Dumbledore, you are speaking nonsense. He has not returned. The students have no reason to defend themselves against anything; there is no danger," Umbridge's face was flushed red with anger.

"I do believe we can discuss this matter more deeply at another time, don't you think. All of us are a bit tired and we need our rest just like the students. Everyone, please have a good night's sleep. Professor Thropp, will you follow me please." Dumbledore dismissed them all, and led Elphaba out of the Great Hall. Once they were alone, Dumbledore turned to her. "I am sorry for that rude welcome. Usually the staff is much more welcoming. You have come to us in a turbulent time. As you have heard, the Dark Lord has returned. No doubt, your little friend has informed you of the details." Elphaba nodded. She understood his reasons for vagueness. The pictures themselves, it seemed, could talk and listen as well as any spy lurking around the corner. "This year will be trying for all of us I am afraid; some more than others. I do hope your presence here can help us." He started walking again. "On a happier note, this is the most direct way from the Great Hall to your classroom. From your classroom, I will lead you to your office and personal rooms."

After some turns and up a few staircases, they came to a simple oak door. Dumbledore opened it and allowed her to enter. It was a standard classroom that would hold about thirty students at one time. At the front, there was a larger desk for her, a chalkboard behind it on the wall, and a podium to the left of the desk.

"Will it do," Dumbledore asked from the doorway.

"It will do," Elphaba answered simply. Standing in the classroom, not as a student but as a professor, gave her a sense of power. It was not a 'take over the world' power, but a power to be able to voice her thoughts and ideas, and people, students, would have no choice but to listen. Of course, she didn't believe she would be able to help all of them, but maybe just a few would listen, and then a few more…

"Shall I lead you to your rooms then?" Elphaba turned and walked out the door into the hall. Dumbledore led her through some more hallways and even through a few portraits that hid doors and more hallways. Elphaba was quite sure she wouldn't be able to remember how to get back the next morning. What would she do?

Finally, Dumbledore stopped at a door with a simple, silver plaque on it. It read, "Elphaba Thropp, Professor of Wandless Magic." "This door leads to your office," Dumbledore produced a key from his robes and gave it to Elphaba. She took it and opened the door. The office was small and sparse; it had a desk and a chair in the middle of the room, two more chairs for visitors in front of the desk, a large fireplace behind her desk, and bookshelves lining all of the walls. She couldn't see any visible door that led to her private chambers. 'A trap door or secret passageway, then,' she thought nostalgically of Kiamo Ko. The book shelves were completely bare; there were no books to speak of. There wasn't even any hint that books had been placed on the shelves before. So, she wasn't sure how to get to her rooms beyond the office. Dumbledore seemed to have picked up on her thought patterns while she walked around the room looking for a trip wire or something.

"To get to your rooms, all you need to do is say a password into the room. It could be yelled or barely whispered and the door to your rooms will reveal itself. But, I will leave you to think of one on your own, so as not to intrude on your privacy. I will see you at seven-thirty am or so for breakfast in the Great Hall. Classes start at nine o'clock am. Have a good night's sleep." Dumbledore walked out the door and closed it behind him with a soft 'snick.'

Elphaba walked around the room some more trying to figure out where the door was without magic. If she could get in without magic, no one else would be able to get in with magic. And, observing how dependant the students and faculty were on magic, they all would be helpless in trying to find a trip wire.

"What are you looking for, little frog?" Elphaba started and turned abruptly at the surprising voice, as well as the old nickname. On her desk was a small picture frame with an elderly witch in it. She looked to be in her mid-sixties. Elphaba moved to the picture slowly and leaned down to observe it. "Now, don't stare so, it gives me the creeps. You certainly will be able to command a class with that look of yours. It is rude to stare anyway." The woman said reproachfully.

"Never stopped anyone from staring at me," she said unblinkingly. She wanted to make sure the woman couldn't come out of that frame. The woman sighed while they held each other's gazes.

"Such a beautiful young lady, yet you have such old, haunted eyes. You've been through a lot, haven't you, dear?" Elphaba stood up to her full height quickly. She hadn't expected to be analyzed by a woman in a picture. She said as much to the woman. "Now now, don't take offense. I haven't much else to do, but to observe the living. Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Janice Longhorne. I was a practitioner of wandless magic when I was alive. Alas, not many people could achieve the level of skill and perfection to use wandless magic properly. However, that was many, many years ago, before the Second Dark Lord. Perhaps, the generations have become more skilled since then. Perhaps, you, my dear, will have more luck. Oh, but listen to me, I'm rambling, what is your name, dear?"

"Elphaba Thropp," she answered. She was surprised to hear this woman had also been able to use wandless magic. "Elphaba is fine."

"Elphaba, such an exotic, beautiful name. Where do you come from, Elphaba?"

Elphaba leaned down to be eye level with the woman again. "Nowhere you would be familiar with. It is a long ways from here, and perhaps a different world all together." 'There was a time I didn't believe in other worlds…' Elphaba thought back to all the conversations she had with her friends and family about the very subject. Being an atheist, she opposed the very existence of other worlds; now she could clearly see she was wrong.

"Oh, another world, what a coincidence. When I was alive, I knew a man, a Muggle, who believed in magic and other worlds as well. He was convinced he would find a long-lost wizard's book in another world. He spent all of his young adult life looking for a way to cross to another world. Eventually, he got the idea in his head to use a new Muggle transportation system to lift himself to another world. He disappeared after that, never saw him again. We all assumed he died." Janice trailed off when she had finished her story. Elphaba stared at the woman in complete shock.

'This can't be true, no. It can't be; I can't be…' "Is this true; what you are telling me?" Elphaba tried to keep her voice neutral, but it shook slightly. "About the man flying in a red balloon to another world?"

"I never said it was a red balloon, but that was exactly what it was." Janice looked at Elphaba quizzically. "How would you know…" Janice's eyes widened in the picture. "You are from another world, and you saw the man that I knew." She looked at Elphaba more closely, "But, you are so young, and how did you get here?" Elphaba decided it was time to cut this short. As much as she wanted to keep talking with this woman about their mutual acquaintance, she realized it was getting late.

"I am sorry, Janice. But, it is getting late, and I have my first class to teach tomorrow. Can we finish this conversation another time?"

"Of course, Elphaba. I'll be here all the time. Nowhere else to go, except to the frame in your living room that is." That statement reminded Elphaba of what she was looking for in the first place.

"Janice, is there a trip wire or something to open the door to my chambers without magic?"

"Without magic? Why would you want to do that?"

"If I do not have a password to open my chambers, then no one will be able to guess it. Therefore, only I would be able to get in and out." Elphaba explained as she stalked the room again.

"A bit paranoid, aren't we," Janice said dryly. "Well, in all my years here, I have never had a professor, or student, ask me such a question. I must say I don't know the answer. It is a good idea though. Tell you what, since it is very late, come up with a password that only you would know. Seeing as you're from a different world with different experiences, it shouldn't be too difficult. Then whenever you find a trip wire, if it exists, you can cancel the password."

Elphaba thought about the proposition, "I guess that will do for now."

"It will have to do for now, otherwise you will be spending the night in your office. Now, come on; say a password."

Elphaba stood and looked into the empty fireplace for a few minutes. "A soul," she finally said quietly. There was a sudden stone grinding on stone sound to Elphaba's left. In the corner, a section of the wall as wide as two people standing side by side had sunk into the wall leaving a rectangular indentation. Then the shelves against that section of the wall glided forward to be farther forward than the rest of the shelves in the room. Finally, both the section of shelves and wall slid to the left simultaneously. The section of shelves slid in front of the shelves next to it, and the section of wall that had slid back glided behind the rest of the wall out of sight.

Elphaba watched the whole thing silently; she would find a trip wire tomorrow. She peered into the dark room beyond and could just make out the outline of furniture. She walked up to the door cautiously and glared into the gloom. "Lights," she said in a commanding tone. Flames immediately flickered in torches around the room.

"You know if you weren't so demanding about it, magical objects might like you better," Janice chided gently from a larger frame on the far wall.

"In my experience, it is the only way to get magical objects to respond correctly. It is the same with animals and children."

"Tut, tut. You may find yourself wrong in that respect in a couple of days." Elphaba ignored her by exploring the room. It was a sitting area that would hold thirteen people comfortably; more if she added some chairs. There was a large fireplace, now crackling merrily, on the right side of the room. Situated around the fireplace was a corner couch that was expected to seat five people, but in her experience, more people could sit on a couch like that. There was a rather large coffee table in front of the couch. Elphaba figured she could do much of her grading on that table. To the left of the couch were two chairs. One was a rocking chair; the other was a recliner with a foot stool.

In the other half of the room was a mahogany dining table with six matching chairs. The floor was a dark hardwood of some kind with navy blue rugs under the table, the couch, reclining chair, and rocking chair. The walls started out in a little lighter color of blue but then faded up into silver and then white to the ceiling. All around the room there were more book shelves that needed to be filled.

Elphaba found another door on the opposite wall across from the office. She opened it and saw the most comfortable looking bed she had ever seen. The bed-cover was as black as her hair, but had small specks of silver that sparkled in the light. The floor was covered in a very dark gray plush carpet and the walls were a deep purple color that faded into black eventually. The ceiling was a fathomless black. The headboard of the bed, which was the same material as the dining table, was against the same wall as the door she just came through, so the dressers, wardrobe, and make-up vanity were situated against the other walls. On the left wall next to the vanity, was one more door.

Elphaba took off her shoes and walked across the carpet to the door. The way her feet sank slightly into the carpet gave her shivers, and she smiled faintly to herself. She opened the last door to a magnificent bathroom. It had a large bathtub in the center of the room that sank down into the floor, so it was more like a pool. There was a sink off to one side and a separate compartment for the toilet. There was also a shower on the other side of the tub. The floor of the shower however was just a few inches lower than the rest of the room. That way, the water from the shower would not run into the rest of the bathroom. The floor and the lower half of the wall was made up of white and black patterned tiles. And the rest of the walls and ceiling were plain white. This room was much brighter than the rest of her rooms.

Elphaba practically skipped, but did not, out of the bathroom and bedroom to the dining room. She turned rather excitedly to Janice on the wall. "I feel like an actual girl for the first time in my life." Elphaba grinned at the older woman and ran back into the bedroom to leap onto her bed. Janice shook her head at the young woman's antics. 'So serious, and yet still a child at the most random times. Young people are so odd.' Janice settled into her chair as she heard Elphaba climb into bed for her first night at Hogwarts.

Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the twins waited until the last Gryffindor went to bed before springing on Harry. Harry was currently brooding by the fire because he found out more people than he expected thought he was off his rocker. The group of friends and family surrounded him and prevented him from escaping.

"Alright Harry, we are alone at last. What happened and where did you go?" Hermione cut right to the point.

Harry sighed, "Is it really that important?" He knew he would tell them everything; he just wished he wasn't alone in telling them. However, the only other person who knew anything was currently being led through the halls of Hogwarts by Dumbledore.

"Yes, it is very important," Hermione said in an exasperated voice.

"We were all really worried, mate," Ron pitched in.

"Well, from what I heard," Harry said looking at Ron mischievously, "Hermione, Ginny, and your mum were more worried about me than you were, mate."

Harry watched as two light-bulbs went off, Hermione's and Ginny's. "You were the light-haired guy with Professor Thropp!"Ginny said pointing an accusing finger at Harry.

Harry smiled at them, "Guilty as charged. You all were quite fun to listen to. I am sorry I made you all worry. But, the situation I was in required that I be left alone. It was my own choice."

"What situation?" Asked one of the twins.

Harry looked at his friends; he trusted them, but did Elphaba trust them? He knew she had trust issues, and for good reason. But, she trusted Snape when he encouraged her to, maybe this would be the same. "Elph… Professor Thropp needed help, and I was the only one around to give her help. So, I did."

"How did you help her exactly," asked Ron.

"She was hurt, and she probably would have died if I hadn't taken her to my house and then to the Leaky Cauldron."

"So, you just found some random lady lying on the street and took her home," asked the other twin in a less than approving tone. "Are you suicidal?"

"No, I didn't find her on the street. She came flying out of a vortex or portal or something and…"

"Oh, I rather you were suicidal." The twins complained.

"Harry, you don't really expect us to believe that Professor Thropp came flying out of a vortex, do you?" Ginny asked concerned, she felt his forehead.

"Yes, I expect you to believe me, you are my friends. And, if you don't believe us, then do us the courtesy of not telling anyone else. We both think it would be in our best interests if no one knew we knew each other outside of the school."

"Why?"

"Well, because….because…well, she was hurt, and I … I had to help her… You know _help her_." They all stared at him blankly. "She was hurt and couldn't move on her own. She had cuts all over her body and I had to… had to…help her." Harry finished slowly. He could tell the girls were starting to get the picture, because their glares were getting more and more intense as the seconds ticked by. The boys were still lost. Harry helped them out, "I saw her naked, okay?!" Harry was sure his face couldn't get any redder. After a few seconds of stunned silence, "You know, it is on your heads when Elphaba throws me off the Astronomy Tower. This was supposed to stay between the two of us." He could already feel his stomach flipping from the fall.

"Oh, it's _Elphaba_ now?" Ginny fumed.

"Oh, Harry," was all Hermione said before she dropped her own blushing face into her hands.

"Harry, one of us was supposed to be her boyfriend, not you." The twins accused him.

"You what?" Ron asked dumbly.

Harry launched himself out of the chair and headed for the door, "I'm going for a walk."

"It's after curfew," Hermione snapped out of her embarrassment at the thought of rule-breaking.

"Going to see Elllpphaba?" the twins chorused and collapsed to the floor in quiet laughter.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am. I am going to have her take house points because you all are being pricks. Come along if you want; maybe you can stop her from throwing me out a window."

"Harry, why do you keep saying she is going to throw you somewhere? From what I could see, she wasn't much bigger than you. She can't be strong enough to throw you anywhere. If anything, you'd be one to throw her…" Ron trailed off at the way his comment was going. The twins started laughing a bit harder. Ginny was now glowering at everyone except Hermione who was trying very hard not picture anything. Harry ignored the awkward statement and explained. "Because she is going to teach us wandless magic, and she's damn good at it." At that, everyone stopped thinking about Harry's possible love affair.

"Wandless magic?" Hermione asked with wonder in her voice. The twins and Ginny exchanged excited looks, and Ron got a look on his face that only came up when he was playing chess; he was thinking strategy. Harry went along with the new subject hoping he could get their minds out of the gutter. He sat back down and told them about when she first saw him, she flung him away like a bug, how she opened the door at his Uncle's house, and how she pushed him against a wall and held him there until she came back to reality.

"She is really strong, guys, probably stronger than Dumbledore and maybe even Voldemort. I think what she teaches us this year could give us a leg up in the second war." Harry finished. He had left out many parts of what went on between them and the stories about Oz, but only told the important stuff like her flying out of a circle, the wounds, her wandless magic, and their hiding out together and learning together. He looked at Hermione after he was done, "She's a lot like you, Hermione. When we got your first letters, she immediately pegged you as clever. I think she likes you."

"I kind of wish I hadn't said all those nasty things about her before." Ron looked a bit pale, almost green.

"Well, now we all get to redeem ourselves in class," said one of the twins. "Harry you can probably hold off on going to her about us being pricks, if you can prove that nothing else went on."

"Believe me, nothing like that went on and never will. She's already…"

"What?" they leaned in conspiratorially.

"I… I can't tell you. That is one subject I will let her tell, if she ever wants to tell it again."

"Again?" Hermione picked up on the sad note in his voice.

"The only thing I will tell you is this. His name was Fiyero."

"Was?" asked Ginny quietly.

"He's dead." Harry said simply. Everyone was silent for a few seconds.

"How did he die?" asked Ron.

"I won't tell you that," Harry said evenly. "That is for her to tell who she wants."

"But, you know how he died, how she got hurt, and how she came to be here." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, I do. She told me because she trusts me, and I plan on keeping that trust; what's left of it anyway. I already spilled on one of our secrets."

"Well, don't tell her that you told us," Ron stated simply. "There, trust problem solved."

Harry looked into the fire, "Trust me when I say, the next time she sees my face to face she'll know something happened."

"That's because you are a terrible liar," said one of the twins. Just then there was a tapping at the window. They all looked up to see Fawkes hovering outside the window. Harry walked over and let the fiery bird in. It gave Harry a letter and flew out the window.

Harry opened the letter, "Harry," he read aloud. "I know this is very short notice, but tomorrow morning could you please escort Professor Thropp to the Great Hall for breakfast. I don't think she knows the layout of the castle just yet. Please lend her a hand. She is on the fifth floor. Thank you, Professor Dumbledore."

"I thought you said no one else knew anything?" Ginny said accusingly.

"He doesn't know the details, and he won't know unless Elphaba tells him. I told you guys because I know we both can trust you. I don't know how much Elphaba trusts Professor Dumbledore."

"So, Harry old pal," the twins swung their arms around his shoulders, "is Elphaba green all over?"

Harry felt his face get hot again. "Yes," he answered shyly.

"Did she have a homicidal look in her eye when you saw her _naked_?" Ron asked joining in.

"Not quite homicidal, maybe sadistic. But, I know two people who look pretty homicidal and they're sitting right over there." Harry moved out of the way just as a few stinging hexes were thrown at the boys. They yelped in pain, as Harry escaped to his bed.


	8. Chapter 8

**(A/N) Hey guys, thank you so so much for being so patient. I am terrible about updating, but now that I have finally graduated, I hope that I can be more punctual about it. Here is the next installment; hope you all like it. Your reviews and feedback is always appreciated. (translations are at the bottom) **** Until next time…**

Elphaba awoke to yelling and pounding. For a moment she thought she was back at Kiamo Ko and Chistery was screeching and banging some pans together again. "Chistery, stop that infernal racket this instant!" But the pounding and yelling continued. She let out an annoyed sigh and sat up to go correct the chattering little monkey. But that train of thought stopped abruptly when she took in her room. She wasn't at Kiamo Ko; she was at Hogwarts, and she had classes to teach. She sprung out of bed, grabbed a black robe, and raced through her beautiful bedroom, her beautiful dining room, and into her rather drab and disappointing office.

"Someone's at the door for you, dear." Janice said rather calmly as she flipped a page in her book inside her frame.

"Hai," Elphaba said as she crossed to the door.

"Hi?" she heard Janice ask, but paid it no heed. Elphaba yanked open the door. "Nani?" She took in Harry standing before her and some other students, his friends, standing a few feet away. "Nani o shiteru, Harii-san?" Harry merely stared at her blankly. She opened the door fully and stood to her full height in front of him. "Nani?" Harry visibly cowered and the others actually took a step back.

"I, uh… I …" Harry stuttered.

"Oh, Harry stop stuttering, or I will be forced to hit you. I hate stuttering, spit it out." Elphaba said in her own language. Harry blinked a couple times, but then seemed to get the hint. He stood straight.

"I am here to escort you to the Great Hall for breakfast. It hasn't started yet, so you have time to…get dressed." Even though she couldn't understand him (which she realized belatedly) she saw him look her over and heard a snicker from Ron. She made a connection.

She leaned in very close to him and said in her best English without the translation charm, "What did you say?" Harry looked very surprised for a moment, but then turned to his friends.

"I told you she would find out. I told you…" Harry didn't get to finish his sentence. Elphaba grabbed his shirt collar, dragged him into her office, and slammed the door.

"And that's how Voldemort won the Second War." Ginny said dryly.

On the other side of the door…

"BAKA! Harii-san, nani o hanashita?! Nani?!" Elphaba practically screamed at him. Harry guessed this was what it was like having an irate, older sister yelling at him. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen. Harry pointed at his throat at his wand and said the translation spell.

"Where is your translation charm?" he yelled back. "I couldn't understand a word you said to me out there. You are being ridiculous!"

"I am being ridiculous?! You are the one who could not keep a secret from his friends for more than one night!" Harry had had enough of this. He quickly wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, and held her while she tried to push him off. Eventually, she stopped fighting. After a few more minutes, he felt it was safe to let go of her. He stepped back and looked her in the eyes. She was still a bit angry, but it was fading fast.

"So, how'd you sleep? Obviously, you have a pretty nice bed, to be able to sleep in like that."

Elphaba stiff posture relaxed slightly. "I'll show you." She led him into her chambers.

On the other side of the door…

"I can't hear anything…" Ron complained. All five of them had their ears pressed against the door.

"That's because he's dead," one of the twins said forlornly.

Elphaba led Harry through her dining room/living room and into her bedroom. Harry plopped down on the bed. "Wow, this is nice. Makes me wish we were still sleeping in the same bed." Elphaba gave him a sharp look as she put her translation charm on.

"Going back to our earlier discussion, what did you tell them?"

Harry figured he would get this over with quickly, "I told them I saw you naked." Harry looked up to see Elphaba's face mere centimeters from his. He leaned back, but she followed.

"You said what? Please tell me I heard wrong." She said in a low dangerous voice. Harry gulped.

"I'm sorry, alright. They didn't give me much of a choice; they just kept pestering me. I got nervous and flustered. So, I told them just to make them stop. Then they started teasing me about how you and I were in love, and that is exactly the thinking that we didn't want, so I told them about Fiyero." Harry regretted this last statement the moment the words left his mouth.

Elphaba looked at him with a strange look, "What? You told them about…" She couldn't finish. She backed away from him suddenly. Harry knew that look; distrust. Harry followed her, but she backed away from him.

"Elphaba, I didn't tell them everything. I told them very little; in fact, just that you had a lover and his name was Fiyero. That's it; that's all I told them. I'm sorry, please forgive me. Please." He was begging with her, but he didn't care. Harry realized then that he wanted her to be an older sister to him. He needed her. It wasn't pretend anymore. He tried one last thing. "I'm the idiot little brother, remember? I do really stupid things, and it's your job to beat the shit out of me when I do stupid things." Harry was closer to her now; she had stopped backing away from her when he said 'brother.' "Please, forgive me." He said one last time.

He watched as her shoulders relaxed a little, "Baka, otouto. Of course, I forgive you Harry." Harry smiled sheepishly at her. "However, you are not out of hot water yet. I still need to think of some way to punish you." Harry tensed. "I will think it over and get back to you. Now, out, I need to get dressed. What time is it?"

"It is seven-fifteen. You have fifteen minutes. Will you be ready by then?" Harry asked backing out the door.

"That is more than enough time."

Ten minutes later…

Harry and Elphaba stood on one side of the office door listening to the conversation on the other side.

"Guys," Hermione's voice was a little faint, "will you please get away from that door. It's been ten minutes; they probably aren't even in the office anymore."

"What are you implying?" One of the twins asked mischievously.

"She is not implying anything," Ginny's voice was also a bit faint, but they could hear the venom in her voice.

"I think she likes you," Elphaba whispered to Harry. Harry blushed.

"She's had a crush on me since I was twelve," he explained quietly.

"Ever thought about reciprocating those feelings?" Elphaba asked with a teasing tone. "It would certainly get certain people off our backs."

"At the moment, I don't reciprocate those feelings. And, no, you can't play matchmaker."

"I wouldn't dream of playing matchmaker. I know next to nothing about bringing people together. That is Glinda's job." Harry was about to ask something about Glinda, but a comment from the other side stopped him.

"How much longer can they possibly snog each other without coming up for air?" Harry couldn't tell who said that, but it really didn't matter. Elphaba had pushed him away from the door and yanked it open. The three boys fell at her feet.

Elphaba glared down at the boys, "If I hear any such comments again from any of the three of you; you will lose something very precious to you." The three Weasley brothers paled visibly as they crabbed walked backwards to put some distance between the four of them. Harry walked out the door with a smug look on his face as Elphaba locked her office door. The three red-headed boys picked themselves up as Hermione, Ginny, and Harry joined them in a group.

Elphaba noticed the separation. "I am so happy to see students so eager to start their first day of classes." She said this with a slight scoff. "I do hope you will enjoy my class." Elphaba took a step toward them. Almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed everyone except Harry had taken a step back. 'I guess wherever I go; I will have that effect on people.' She thought dejectedly. At that moment, some early-rising students rounded the corner heading to breakfast. Harry smiled brightly at her.

"We are here to escort you to the Great Hall, Professor," he said rather loudly. "Headmaster Dumbledore thought you didn't have enough time to explore the castle properly last night, and thought it might be a good idea for you to have an escort." Some of the students had stopped and stared.

"Is that so?" She played along, as she sent a withering glare at the gawkers. "Well, then. Please, escort away." She gestured for Harry to lead the way. He grinned at her again, walked up to her, and gallantly offered his arm.

Elphaba looked at his proffered arm for a few seconds. She wasn't sure what was constituted as too much contact between students and professors. But, she couldn't flat out refuse to take his arm, when he so kindly offered. Elphaba linked her arm with his after a few more seconds, and smiled kindly at him. She saw the twins look between Harry and her rather jealously. 'You are a young professor,' she thought to herself, 'There is bound to be some rather ridiculous unreciprocated feelings.'

As they walked through the castle, Harry and the others helpfully pointed out what stairs, halls and doors led where. Obviously, the places they pointed out were more important places, such as doors that led outside, halls that led to other teachers' offices and classrooms, and how to get to the different Houses. She would have to explore thoroughly on her own later.

Finally, they came to the Great Hall. Harry tactfully let go of her arm just before they came to the open doors. Elphaba figured he too thought their linked arms were probably too casual. She walked into the Hall with the group of students, but a little bit apart, to show their separation. As the group walked to the Gryffindor table, Elphaba walked to the professors' table. Not all the professors were there, but McGonagall, Dumbledore, Snape, and Umbridge were. Two of them were smiling at her, one nodded grudgingly at her, and the fourth ignored her completely. 'Not surprising.' Elphaba thought.

She took her seat next to Snape and waited. None of the professors had moved to eat anything yet, so she waited as well. While waiting, she observed the students. The Hall was quickly filling up as students dragged themselves to breakfast. The Gryffindors were a mix of excited students and tired zombies; the Hufflepuffs were all relatively awake and excitedly talking with each other; the Ravenclaws were already reading books and discussing different subjects, and the Slytherins looked much like the Gryffindors. She couldn't help but notice one Slytherin boy staring at her with a mix of curiosity and disgust. He had white blonde hair and looked to be about Harry's age. When he didn't look away, she made full eye contact with him and held it.

"Draco Malfoy," Snape's voice sounded in her ear. Elphaba tore her eyes away from Malfoy's and turned to Snape. "For future reference, Mr. Malfoy is Mr. Potter's arch rival. However, academically Mr. Malfoy is second to Miss Granger." Snape leaned in a little closer as he glanced at Umbridge, "You may have some respect issues with him. Be on guard today. I have no doubt he will challenge you." Elphaba nodded and looked back at Draco Malfoy. He had looked away from her at some point and was currently attempting to push off a clinging black-haired girl. Even though she knew neither Malfoy nor the girl, she thought the couple's antics were quite reminiscent of Fiyero and Glinda. She smiled fondly at the memory.

"Once you've finished ogling," Snape commented dryly, "You can start eating." Elphaba started slightly and looked at her plate. Her eyebrows rose in surprise. Somehow her plate had gained a couple of fruits and toast. She wondered briefly how those got there. Snape hadn't seemed to notice, so she looked to her left. Next to her sat an older woman with graying hair, a red dress, and a white apron. The woman noticed her look of curiosity.

"You are as thin as a reed, Elphaba dear; we need to get some meat on you. Plus, it has been my experience that new teachers are so nervous their first day; they don't eat anything. And, I do not want to see you in the Infirmary on your first day." Elphaba blushed slightly at the woman's motherly antics.

"Don't worry, Elphaba." Snape said with a half-hearted consoling voice, "I go through this ritual with Madame Pomfrey every year; except this year of course."

"Why not this year?" Elphaba asked curiously.

"Because you are sitting next to her not me," Elphaba was about to say she could easily move but was cut off.

"Elphaba dear, eat before breakfast ends," Madame Pomfrey chided gently.

"Yes, Elphaba _dear_, eat." Elphaba was half tempted to make his drink spill down his front.

She leaned toward Snape slightly, "You are lucky we are in a public place." Snape lowered his cup from his mouth slightly. "Otherwise, that drink would have spilled down your front by now." Snape lowered his cup to most likely give one of his own threats.

"Please children, don't fight," Pomfrey scolded them. The rest of breakfast passed in tense silence.

Toward the end of breakfast, the Heads of House walked along their students' tables to hand out schedules. There were expressions of delight and groaning at various classes. However, she heard the words 'wandless magic' passed around in excited half whispers, and noticed many glances toward her. She ignored them all by studying the ceiling. It was going to be a nice, warm day today.

Once all the students had their schedules and the teachers had taken their seats, Dumbledore rose. "Now that you all have had a good night's sleep and an excellent breakfast, I wish you all the best of luck this year. Off you go." Dumbledore made a shooing motion as the bell rang to head to class. Elphaba glanced at her own schedule as she stood and headed toward her classroom. She only had to teach four of the seven levels of students, but had to teach all the students in those levels. So, today she had four classes to teach. She had first period with fifth year Gryffindor and Slytherin students; second period with fifth year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students, third period with fourth year Gryffindor and Slytherin students, and fourth period with fourth year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students. Tuesday, Elphaba had the sixth and seventh year students. Sixth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had first period, and sixth year Slytherins and Ravenclaws had second period. Then, she had the seventh year Slytherins and Hufflepuffs during third period, and seventh year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws during the fourth period. On Wednesday she had the fifth and fourth years again, and the sixth and seventh years again on Thursday. Her office hours were every day at 2:00pm to 3:00pm, and she had Friday off.

Elphaba rounded the corner to see the hall outside her classroom crowded with the whole class. For some reason they hadn't entered. She walked a little closer and noticed why. Harry and Draco Malfoy were nearly at each other's throats. Well, Harry was being held back by Ron and Neville; Malfoy was standing inches away looking smug. Elphaba frowned. She would need to fix this rivalry, but that could wait.

Elphaba threw the door open and smirked a little as it slammed against the wall with satisfying bang. Her smile grew a little more as Malfoy and all of the other students nearly leapt out of their own skin in surprise. However, only seconds after the door slammed open, Harry looked back at her. He started to smile at her, but stopped when he saw her disapproving look. His smile of glee turned into sheepishness. He ducked his head as she neared the group, who had still failed to notice her presence.

"What was that; a new ghost?" Malfoy asked with a sneer on his face. He looked evilly at Neville who paled considerably. Elphaba figured it was time to end this for now.

"No, Mr. Malfoy, that was me," Elphaba said standing quite close to him. Malfoy whipped around to face her, but stumbled a few feet away when he noticed how close she was. After he had regained his composure and balance, he stood up to his full height; obviously trying to convey authority over her. Elphaba was just a few inches shorter than him, but met his eyes with a steely gaze. "Something you wish to say, Mr. Malfoy?" He smiled haughtily at her as he stared down his nose at her.

"Yes, I do. Exactly how old are? You can't be much older than us; last time I checked a person had to graduate before teaching. And, what's with your skin? Are you half troll? Your accent alone makes you sound slow. Are you slow in the head because of your disgusting heritage?" He said this last sentence slower, emphasizing the thought that she couldn't understand him.

Elphaba raised one of her eyebrows as she looked him up and down slowly. She smiled tightly as she met his eyes with a cold stare. "Baka, you obviously have no knowledge of the world outside your own rich, pampered life. How very sad. I heard such high praise of your academic prowess. But, it seems that you are the one who is slow; not knowing anything about how life really is; how hard life can be." Elphaba's words seemed to bring him up short; he wasn't sure what to say. As his fellow Slytherins looked at him expectantly, he seemed to think of something else.

Malfoy gave her a scathing look. "Life is hard for those who deserve it. Those of us who are "pure" do not have to deal with such low, menial troubles."

"Life does not choose who to be cruel to, boy," Elphaba snapped at him. Malfoy flinched at her tone. "Cruelty is often the substitute of fear or ignorance. When people do not understand or fear difference they act out in cruelty. Tell me, Mr. Malfoy, are you cruel because you do not understand my "difference," or do you _fear_ me?" He hesitated. "Well, Mr. Malfoy, which is it; ignorance or fear?"

Malfoy's eyes shifted from side to side quickly. She realized that what he said next would affect the way his fellow Slytherins viewed him. He was nervous and afraid for his reputation. She wondered what he really was like beneath his bravado and snobby ego; a frightened boy not ready to be a leader, perhaps. But, Malfoy squared his shoulders.

"I am not afraid of you, and I am not ignorant of your "difference." He smirked at her. "You are obviously an inbred creature of some sort, and whatever the pairing was, it wasn't good."

"Well, to enlighten you, both of my parents were perfectly normal humans. But, their… morals were questionable." She smiled at his dubious look. "A potion made my skin permanently green before I was born. I've dealt with people like you all my life; you are no different…no matter what you think your status is. To me, you are a speck of dirt under my shoe not worthy of my attention." Malfoy opened his mouth to retort, "Oh, and fifty points from Slytherin for insulting a professor."

"That's not fair," a black-haired girl, a Slytherin, protested.

"Believe me, I am being nice. You'll see why in a couple of minutes."

"My father will hear of this," Malfoy threatened. Elphaba didn't see the danger in this threat.

"I would hope so. Then I can inform him of how ignorant and spoiled a little brat you are."

She turned to Harry (and his side of the group, the Gryffindors), "Mr. Potter, I do believe I heard that fighting was strictly forbidden. Thirty points from Gryffindor." Harry looked at her with a mock glare, but she could see the understanding in his eyes. He knew she had to be fair. "Inside all of you!" she barked. The whole group jumped; startled by her loud voice. The group filed in quickly and took their seats; Slytherin on the left; Gryffindors on the right. Elphaba marched to the front of the class, turned swiftly to face them, snapping her skirts around in the process, and stood tense in front of them. She felt nervousness flutter in her stomach from all the eyes staring at her, but ignored it. Elphaba slammed the still open door closed.

She noticed that everyone was beginning to understand her magic. Elphaba could see more than half the students trying to hold back their grins of excitement. "Hopefully, you all have begun to notice what I can do." Many of them nodded. "I will be teaching you how to control the magic around you to do your bidding. This is not wandless magic in the sense of saying a spell in your head and having the spell happen without saying a word or waving your wand. No, this magic is instinct; much like accidental magic, but controlled. When I opened the door, I didn't think 'Alohomora.' I merely wanted it open, so it opened."

A Slytherin boy raised his hand. "Name," Elphaba prompted.

"Blaise Zabini," he answered, "so, you are going to teach us how to do things we already know how to do with our wands? What is the point if we already can do things with our wands?" Elphaba smiled at him.

"That is just the question I hoped would be asked today. Allow me to show you all a little demonstration to show you how useful instinctual magic can be." She looked around the room. "Potter, Malfoy, to the front if you please." Harry rose swiftly, but Malfoy dragged his feet. They came to stand in front of her. "You two are to work together," she waited for both boys to get done glaring at each other, "and try to…disarm me, in a sense. Go over there," she pointed to a corner of the room, "and work out a plan of action." She turned to the rest of class as the two walked over to the corner. "The rest of you please line up along the back wall; out of the way." The students rose and walked to the back of the classroom. Once they were out of harm's way, Elphaba waved her arm slightly across the empty desks. The desks and chairs immediately sprung into action and stacked themselves and along the unoccupied side of the room.

Elphaba walked to the middle of the now empty floor and turned to Harry and Malfoy. The two seemed to be arguing. She waited another minute. "Are you two ready?" The two boys looked over at her. Malfoy was glaring at her, but Harry looked a little worried. 'Here is your punishment for talking about my secrets, Harry.' She thought. The two walked over to her; or rather they took up positions on either side of her. 'Well, at least they have some amount of strategy working in their brains.' "You both understand the rule that to win you need to disarm me, in other words, keep me from defending myself, correct?" They both nodded, both boys had already taken out their wands and pointed them at her. She nodded. "Very well, then I will tell you the last rule. Other than the one I just told you, there are no other rules. By any means necessary, you may try to defeat me." She looked at the rest of the class. "I will raise a shield around you all, so none of you are hit by stray spells. Please don't panic if one comes sailing your way, and please do not come through the shield to try to help the boys or me. If you do that, then I can't protect you. Understood?" The class nodded. The boys and some of the girls, mostly Slytherins, looked eager to watch the fight. Others looked slightly nervous about the prospect of the three of them potentially getting hurt on the first day. Once Elphaba had raised a strong shield around the students, she looked at Malfoy and Harry. "Begin."

"Stupefy!" Malfoy immediately shot a spell at Elphaba. She flicked her wrist up to create a small shield. The spell bounced off it harmlessly. She turned her head toward Harry in time to hear him mumble another spell and point his wand at her. Instead of putting up a shield she merely side stepped the spell and let Malfoy deflect it. Malfoy sent Confringo at her. She deflected this spell as well, but sent it back at Malfoy.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled. Elphaba deflected this also. Both Harry and Malfoy sent multiple spells at her, but none ever came close to touching her. Finally, Elphaba decided to take drastic measures; their game of "hit the target" was over. She held out her hand and pulled both wands to her. She caught them easily and looked at the boys staring at her dumbfounded.

"I said any means necessary. What will you do now without your wands?" She asked indifferent. Harry immediately lunged at her, but she threw up a shield to block him. Malfoy tried the same maneuver, but got the same result.

"Oh, come on!" Malfoy yelled frustrated. "All you do is throw up shield after shield! Nothing else you can do?!"

"Fine. For your ego, I will stop "throwing up shields" and defend myself in other creative ways. Happy?" Elphaba mocked as she let down her most recent shield. Secretly, she was happy he said this because it was hard enough trying to keep up one shield around the students and trying to protect herself at the same time. At least now, she could find other ways to protect herself without using so much energy. She would be dead tired at dinner this evening.

Not having their wands, Harry and Malfoy were unsure of what to do, but Harry made the first move. He took a step closer to Elphaba, and another and another until he was a foot away. She had promised not to use anymore shields, so she couldn't push him away. She was sure the students would see that as another shield. While she was concentrating on Harry, Malfoy had moved closer as well. He was behind her while Harry was in front of her. If they both lunged at her at the same time, she could dodge them both, but if they came one at a time, she wouldn't be able to evade them. The question was did they know that?

Obviously, they did. Harry lunged first and Elphaba dodged, but then Malfoy wrapped his arms around her from behind as she moved. His grip was too strong; she couldn't break free on her own. So, she did what she knew would make him let go; she swung her fist backward and hit him in the groin. Malfoy immediately let go of her and clutched his injured privates, but Harry was quick to react. While Elphaba was preoccupied with Malfoy, Harry lunged at her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tackled her to the hard, stone floor.

Elphaba felt all of Harry's weight come down on her chest as the wind was knocked out of her, and the boys' wands went flying toward the wall. Harry noticed her fumble and reached for the fallen wands. But, Elphaba saw his intent and called them to her once more. Harry reached for the wands even as they sailed past him, but, for once, he wasn't quick enough. Elphaba pushed Harry away from her as the wands leapt back to her hand.

As she climbed to her feet, she glanced at the students. Some of them, the girls mostly, looked concerned at the physical violence playing out in front of them. But, they all seemed to relax once they saw that she wasn't hurt. Elphaba stood between the two boys again; ready for whatever they had up their sleeves.

Harry started shifting to the right toward Malfoy. Elphaba shifted with him so as to keep them both in her sights. Harry finally came to a stop next to Malfoy. Surprisingly, Harry turned to Malfoy and whispered something into his ear. Malfoy looked unsure as Harry started to whisper to him, but took on an agreeing, almost gleeful, look as Harry whispered the last part of his plan and backed away from him. Elphaba did not like that look on Malfoy's face, but decided to be happy that Harry and Malfoy were finally working as a team. Harry had shifted back to his original position. Elphaba tensed as they took up their own ready positions. Since Harry had come up with the plan and he _knew_ her quite well, she knew she should be ready to expect something she wouldn't like.

Harry suddenly lunged at her and she turned to face him. But, just centimeters before he reached her, he stopped and just looked at her. She was confused at first, but quickly realized she had taken her eyes off Malfoy. She turned to look at him, but he was not there. She felt him move up behind her from the left, seeing as she had turned to the right. His hands wrapped around her once more but he kept his position so she couldn't hit him again. Even more surprising to her was where his hands went. His left hand wrapped around her chest and grabbed her breast while his right hand reached around her waist and went _lower_.

Elphaba froze at his touches; her mind had gone blank. But, seeing the surprised looks on the other students' faces snapped her back to reality. She ignored where Malfoy's hands were placed, turned her shoulders, and elbowed him in the eye as hard as she could. That hit would give him a black eye. Malfoy let go of her breast to cup his eye, but his right hand stayed where it was. Therefore, when he fell back, she went with him, and Harry chose that moment to tackle her from the front.

They ended up in a heap of arms and legs on the floor; Elphaba lying on top of Malfoy while Harry lay across her chest. She had their wands clutched in her right hand which was currently stretched out across the floor. Harry reached out and pinned her arm to the floor while Malfoy reached for the wands in her hand. Elphaba let go of the wands and sent them skidding across the room under the stacked desks and chairs. Harry watched them slide away from the three of them.

He looked down at Elphaba and Malfoy below him. "Hold her!" he yelled at Malfoy. As Harry scampered off for the wands, Malfoy wrapped his arms around her once again and pinned her arms to her sides. Elphaba flung her head backward to, not only slam into Malfoy's forehead, but to see what Harry was doing.

Harry was reaching for the wands. Elphaba moved her chin to the right and the wands jumped to the right out of Harry's reach. Elphaba rolled over to her side to try to get better positioning as she wrestled Malfoy on the floor. Seeing as Malfoy was bigger and stronger than her, he had the upper hand. But, she had had *cough* wrestling matches with Fiyero, and she had gotten good at getting better positions. While the two of them battled for positions, Harry kept grabbing for the wands, but Elphaba made sure she moved them just out of reach every time.

From her position atop Malfoy's chest she heard Harry huff in frustration. She glanced up to see Harry holding out his hand toward the wands, but not moving toward them. She smiled a little and took her own power off the wands. Harry seemed to be concentrating very hard. Malfoy used the distraction to flip her over onto her back and lay completely on her chest.

'Come on, you stupid things,' Harry thought ferociously at the wands, 'Come to me.' After a few more seconds, the wands flew to his hand. Harry wrapped his hand around the two wands and refused to let go, even when he was pulled off balance when Elphaba tried to pull them out of his hand. She smiled at Harry's accomplishment despite her current awkward position. Malfoy had pinned her arms to the floor with his own arms and was straddling her waist. Ignoring how close his face was to hers and how much contact there was between his body and hers, Elphaba turned her head toward Harry.

"Well done, Potter." Elphaba blasted Malfoy off of her and stood up gracefully; brushing dust off her dress. Malfoy stood up a few feet away where he had fallen after being flung off of her; picking what looked like strands of her long black hair off of his face and clothing. Harry walked over and handed Malfoy his wand. "Well done, both of you." The boys looked at her in confusion.

"But, we didn't disarm you, or stop you or anything." Malfoy stated, "Our wands won't work against you, so what did we accomplish?"

"One: you accomplished teamwork. You didn't disarm me or stop me, but you were able to detain me for a while. It was a good idea on Potter's part to have you, Malfoy, take me on while Potter was busy trying to retrieve the wands. Malfoy, you are larger and stronger than me while Potter is closer to my size. I had a much harder time wrestling you than I would have had against Potter. Two: Potter, you were able to call the wands to you after a little concentration. That is what I really wanted one of you to try. I didn't expect you to actually accomplish the task of using wandless magic, but you did. Congratulations." Elphaba dropped the shield around the rest of the students and beckoned them forward. "Can anyone tell me what the lesson was today? Why is my type of wandless magic so useful?" Hermione Granger, and surprisingly Neville, raised their hands. "Yes, Mr. Longbottom?"

"You wanted us to see how wandless magic could be used against a person with and without a wand."

"Yes, ten points to Gryffindor, anything else? For the attacker, which would be more beneficial, attacking with or without a wand?"

Pansy Parkinson raised her hand, "Yes, Miss?"

"Pansy Parkinson. I would say without a wand."

"Why would you say that?" Elphaba asked. She felt pride well up in her chest for these students' intelligence.

"Because," Seamus Finnigan started to say. He paused when he realized he had interrupted Pansy, but she merely looked at him expectantly. Elphaba nodded at him to continue. "Because, when they cast spells at you, you just deflected them with a shield. But, when they came at you physically you had to defend yourself. That is why it was more beneficial for them to fight you without wands. Without spells, they could get closer and actually get some advantage over you."

"Yes, exactly. Yes?" Elphaba called on Ron who had raised his hand.

"But, when they came near you, couldn't you have just thrown up another shield to keep them from coming any closer?"

"Yes, I could have, but Mr. Malfoy asked that I stop doing that and defend myself in other ways, so I did."

"Oh. But, it isn't just throwing up shields, right?" Ron asked.

"Right," Elphaba answered, "What else did I do?" she asked the class in general.

"You pushed the wands away when Potter tried reaching for them under the desk, and before that, you pulled them toward you when he tackled you the first time." Malfoy stated.

"Yes. Ten points to Slytherin. Alright, let's take a break. Please, be back here in ten minutes and I will begin teaching you how to _feel_ the magic inside and around you." Once the students had dispersed, Elphaba put the chairs and desks back to their original positions and sat at her desk. She wouldn't admit it, but she felt slightly tired. She realized she would need to work on her stamina somehow.

"That was totally wicked," she looked up to see that the students had not closed the classroom door the whole way. While some had actually wandered away from the classroom, most of them had just decided to stand outside the door. She could hear everything they said.

"Do you realize this is a completely different type of magic?" she heard Hermione's voice. "If people perfect this; they wouldn't even need a wand."

"I like my wand though," said another boy.

"Well, obviously, we can have the best of both worlds," Harry commented. "I would still use my wand for spells like Expecto Patronum and Fera Verta." There was a pause, "What?"

"Oh, you did study over break," Hermione sounded extremely happy.

"Ach, get off Hermione, it isn't like I solved world hunger or something."

"You studied over break, Harry?" Ron sounded slightly disappointed, "You must have been really bored." Only Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Elphaba could pick up on the underlying message in that statement. Elphaba smiled. She distinctly remembered Harry complaining after ten minutes of her testing him on his knowledge. 'Are we done yet? I'm bored!' he had said. 'No, we are not done. And, what else are you going to do?' Harry had mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, 'I don't know…not this.' She had whacked him on the knee with the book for that.

Ten minutes later, all the students were seated and looking at her expectantly. "Well, I can guarantee you all that the first few weeks of this class are not going to be as exciting as the first ten minutes;" Some of them groaned a little, "merely because you do not know how to use magic the way that I do. My magic deals much less with waving a hand and saying or thinking a spell or action; it deals with mental strength and will. I know that _will _is not the best word to describe what I mean, but if you are _firm_ in what you want something to do; it will do it. If you do not have the strength in your mind; if you are not confident, then nothing will happen. …Potter, when you called those wands to you, did you think anything?"

Harry thought for a moment and then turned a little red, "Well, when I got angry that they wouldn't come to me, I…I thought, 'Come on, you stupid things. Come to me,' as if they were living…things." He blushed a little more as some people snickered.

"That is exactly what I mean by will. If you want something enough, then it will happen. For example, Potter…" She walked to Harry's desk and put a pen on his desk. "Can you push that pen off your desk?" Harry looked at the pen, but nothing happened. "It may help to say something to get the thought in your head." Everyone was craning their necks to see if Harry could do it. He looked around nervously before taking a steadying breath. Elphaba felt bad for putting him on the spot, but he did accomplish the magic at least once.

"Go." Harry said to the pen. Nothing happened. "Go!" Harry said a little forcefully and made a little bit of a shooing motion with his hand. Elphaba noticed some of the students starting to smirk, but she glared at them until they noticed and promptly put on serious faces. Harry sighed next to her, "Sorry, I guess I'm not in the right…mindset. When I called the wands to me, I was…" Harry wasn't sure how to put it.

"Frustrated and desperate?" Elphaba suggested. Harry shrugged. When Elphaba stared at him, he realized she wanted a vocal answer.

"Yeah, I guess so." She nodded, picked the pen up off his desk, and walked to the front again.

"From what I have researched, accidental magic is caused by emotions, correct?" Some of the students nodded. "Potter was frustrated, so his "accidental magic" kicked in and helped him out. I suppose what I will be teaching you all is how to control your "accidental" magic. But, because it seems it is only brought on by strong emotions, we first need to work on actually feeling the magic inside of you. As you know, wizards and witches are different from muggles because muggles do not have magic inside them. Well, as you all are now, the only way to use your magic is if you use a conductor; your wands. But, accidental magic doesn't need a wand to be directed by; it exists inside and outside of the human body, and can be used.

"I can see why all of you will have trouble at first. You all have been taught to quell your instinctual magical skills, and to use your wands to control the magic inside you. But, this limits you. With a wand, you have to say a certain word exactly the right way, move your wand exactly the right way, and have exact timing. What are the chances that you will speak and move correctly when in a duel? What's more, what are the chances that you will lose your wand during a fight; either because you dropped it or your opponent stole it from you? How will you defend yourself? You cannot; you will try to run away, but because they have a wand and the ability to stop you, you will lose."

Everyone stared at her in comprehension and worry. She was right; they knew. Elphaba could see all of them thinking of different times in their lives when they were "limited" because of their wands.

"Finally," everyone snapped their eyes to her; she had their complete attention. "How many times were you in a situation where you wanted to do something, but could not, because you didn't know a spell, or worse, had _forgotten_ a spell?" Elphaba waited a few seconds for all of her statements to sink in completely.

"Now, we are going to do some breathing exercises and try to clear your minds. When your minds are clear, you will be able to sense the magic inside you and become more aware of it in the area around you." She looked around at them and locked eyes with Hermione. "Miss Granger, do you know a spell that will transform chairs into cushions?" Hermione nodded, muttered a spell, and pointed at an unoccupied chair. It turned into a brown cushion and flopped to the floor. "Very good; everyone stand up and turn your chairs into cushions." The class did so and sat down on them. Elphaba stacked the desks along the walls again and stood in front of the students. "Everyone please sit cross-legged on the cushion with your hands on your laps and straight-backed." They did so.

"Good; we will just work on breathing correctly today. Hypothetically, if you breathe right and focus only on that, your mind will go blank on its own. Everyone take a deep breath slowly through your nose and let it out through your mouth slowly." The class did that. "That is how you need to breath for this to work. Do not worry about being in sync with anyone else; everyone has different sized lungs. The important part is to breathe slowly and deeply and concentrate only on that. Try not to think of anything else."

Harry breathed in and out, in and out, but he couldn't stop noticing things around the room and getting distracted. Others seemed to be having the same problem; Ron couldn't stop fidgeting. However, some students seemed to have a glazed look to their eyes. "It may help," Elphaba's voice was barely above a whisper, "if you close your eyes." Harry closed his eyes and kept trying. He wasn't sure if it was working, but at times he felt like he couldn't hear anything and wasn't sure how much time had passed.

Elphaba watched as more and more students cleared their minds. She could tell because the tension would leave their bodies and they would breathe as if they were asleep. However, there were still a few students who were having trouble. Elphaba took off her shoes and walked silently over to one of them.

She kneeled behind Hermione and put her hands on her shoulders as she whispered, "Relax." She felt Hermione tense from surprise, but try to relax her shoulders as Elphaba gently ran her hands over her shoulders. Once Hermione had relaxed a little she removed her hands and walked over to another student; Neville Longbottom.

Elphaba figured he would have trouble. From prior experience, Elphaba knew that Neville was jumpy, so she kneeled in front of him and lightly tapped him on the knee. He jumped even from that, but not nearly as much as he would have if she used the same method she used on Hermione. He opened his eyes and looked at her. He opened his mouth to say something, probably to apologize, but she held a silencing finger to her lips and smiled at him. Neville closed his mouth and looked her questioningly. Elphaba got up and kneeled behind him. When she touched his shoulders, he flinched, but relaxed a little when he realized she wasn't going to hurt him. He still couldn't relax enough though, and he was getting tenser from frustration and embarrassment. Elphaba dropped her hands from his shoulders and walked to the front of the class. She noticed that he watched her go with a depressed look on his face.

"Everyone," she tried to make her voice as gentle as possible while using her normal volume so as not to scare them, but many of them jumped.

Harry startled violently when Elphaba's voice called out to the class. It sounded like a bomb had gone off in the room. Harry looked at Elphaba; she had a slightly amused look on her face. Harry looked around and noticed many of them had jumped as much as he did.

"You all did well for your first try." Harry and many others winced at her voice. Elphaba seemed to notice this and lowered her voice. "The bell will ring in fifteen seconds; I suggest you cover your ears." Harry clamped his hands over his ears just as the bell rang. Even when he was covering his ears, the bell sounded extremely loud. After the bell ended, the students started gathering their things to leave for break. Harry wondered how loud the halls would be when he walked out. His ears were still ringing from the bell.

Elphaba watched as the students talked quietly to each other while gathering up their bags. She had not expected so many of them to actually accomplish clearing their minds in the first class. But, perhaps they all had more potential than what she had first thought. After that reflection, she looked over at Neville. He was gathering his things quickly so as to make a quick exit. He seemed bothered by his failure. Elphaba wanted to talk to him about it, but she didn't dare call out to him because some of the students were still recovering. Instead she walked up to him just as he turned to leave and laid her hand on his forearm. He turned to look at her and blushed sheepishly.

"Wait a moment," she said simply. The other students filed out giving the two of them odd looks. Just before the door closed, one of the larger Slytherin boys said to his friend, "Guess Longbottom couldn't do it. He's no better than a squib." Neville's blush deepened at the insult, but he looked down when Elphaba tried to make eye contact with him.

"Mr. Longbottom…"

"I'm sorry, Professor. I c…couldn't d…do it. I couldn't re…relax. Crabbe's right; I'm no better than a squib."

"Mr. Longbottom…Neville," he looked at her when she used his given name, "I did not expect everyone to be able to relax in the first class. I was very surprised so many were able to accomplish it, in fact."

"But, even Crabbe was able to do it; what's wrong with me?"

"There is nothing wrong with you. The only reason Mr. Crabbe was able to accomplish clearing his mind is because he has not got much going on in his brain anyway." Neville's eyes widened at her blatant insult of Crabbe's intelligence. "That insult stays between you and me, Neville." He nodded quickly but couldn't suppress a shy smile. "You, on the other hand, are very bright. You think more, and therefore have a harder time clearing your mind; you also worry too much about what others think. Miss Granger had the same problem. Just stop worrying and try." She smiled encouragingly.

Neville still looked unsure of himself, and looked like he might say something but closed his mouth instead. "What is it, Mr. Longbottom? I would really like to hear any thoughts you may have concerning this problem; it may help you to understand more."

"Well," he blushed again and looked at the floor. Elphaba was beginning to hate it when students avoided her eyes. "I… it has more to do with…you than me. Um, y…you say to stop worrying about what others think, but you…must have a lot of practice…with not caring."

Elphaba was shocked. She had not expected him to insult her. Granted, she had told him to speak his mind, but still. Elphaba considered taking points for insulting her, but decided not to. After a few moments of silence between them, "Go," she said suddenly. Neville flinched at her cold tone. "Catch up with your friends." Elphaba turned her back to him as he walked out of the classroom. She stood tense as a board until she heard the door close. Letting out a breath she had been holding, she sighed and walked to her desk, sat down in her chair slowly, and stared at the empty classroom. She hoped the next classes weren't as taxing.

The rest of her short break passed with Elphaba breathing slowly and silently trying to regain some power. She only snapped back to her senses when she heard the classroom doorknob turn hesitantly. The door started to open slowly since the students seemed nervous about entering. Elphaba felt her right eye twitch.

She pulled the door open the rest of the way quickly. The fifth year Ravenclaw boy who had been pushing the door open nearly fell into the room, but regained his balance and stood sheepishly off to one side.

"Sorry Professor, we didn't want to disturb you since your door was closed." Elphaba glanced at the clock on her desk. It was time for her next class.

"That is alright. It is time for class to start anyway. Take your seats on the cushions." The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs filed in and took their seats. "For future reference," she stood and walked around to the front of the class, "if my door is closed does that mean that I am busy? And, if my door is open, anyone can walk in?"

The same Ravenclaw boy raised his hand. Elphaba nodded at him. "Yes, Professor, however, during long breaks most professors usually go to their offices and lock the classrooms. So, if a student comes looking for a professor, they will go to the office door instead. But, since this wasn't a break, professors leave their doors open until the next class."

"I see. Thank you. Now can anyone tell me the pros and cons of wandless magic…?"

The fifth year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw period went much smoother than Harry's class. Elphaba only had to show them her magic and explain it. She didn't have to fight anyone. After the bell rang and the overzealous students left, Elphaba sat down at her desk once more to resume regaining her strength. She had the fourth year Gryffindors and Slytherins next. Elphaba figured they would be even more rowdy than the fifth years. After a few minutes, the fourth years filed in. Ginny Weasley took a seat close to the front of class. Their eyes locked briefly. Ginny smiled at her, as Elphaba nodded back at her.

Once all of the students had taken their seats on the floor, she rose and walked around to the front of her desk. Her desk was slightly higher seeing as it was raised up on a platform. Elphaba pulled an unoccupied cushion to her and sat down in front of the students. Some of the students looked surprised at her actions, but others looked relieved. Elphaba wondered at their expressions, but decided to look into it later. They were the youngest of her students and would need a good mix of strictness and relaxation to learn from her.

"Tell me, does anyone here not know what wandless magic is?" The students looked at each other in the universal 'I wonder if…' look. "Don't be shy to say you don't know if you don't. This class requires that you know what it is." Elphaba waited, but no one said anything. "Very well, I will begin. Now, I will not be teaching wandless magic as you know it to be." The students looked around in surprise and disappointment. "My magic deals with instinct, much like your accidental magic. As of now, all of you use your wands for everything, correct? You use them to take long notes, fill a cup with water, pull a book to you from across the room, and defend yourself. But, what if you did not have your wand? What would you do? You would take the notes yourself, or go get that cup of water or book from across the room. However, you do not know how to defend yourself without your wand. Sure, you could use brute force, but what if your opponent has a wand of their own? What would you do?" Elphaba paused for a reaction of some sort. The students stared at her in wonder, but they all seemed to be making connections in their heads. "You would not be able to do anything… you would be killed." The room was dead silent, no one dared move; some were barely breathing. "I will be teaching you all how to defend yourselves without wands using your accidental magic."

Ginny raised her hand, "Yes," Elphaba prompted.

"But, we can't control our accidental magic on our own, which is why we have wands." The students nodded in agreement.

"I see. Were you all told your accidental magic was dangerous and that your wands would keep it in check, so you would not hurt anyone?" The students nodded at her. "Well, I agree. Accidental magic can be very dangerous, if you have no control over it."

"So why are you teaching us this then?" a Slytherin boy asked. "If it is so dangerous, why don't you have a wand to control it?"

Elphaba smiled at them, "As a child, I did not have the option of going to a school for magical children, because one did not exist. I was forced to learn how to control my magic on my own. In addition, magic was feared and despised in my house, so I had to keep it a secret. If it came out because I was angry or frightened…" Elphaba paused not wanting to go on with this story, but the students were staring at her; their attention completely locked onto her. "My family would not be pleased." Elphaba finished vaguely.

"So, I had to control my magic or face the consequences. I found that with my wandless magic, I was unlimited. I could do anything I wanted to do, if I tried. I made a broom fly for me, I pulled things to me when I wanted them, and … I made it rain when there was a fire." Fiyero's burning face flashed in front of Elphaba's eyes as she realized the last example. Elphaba was silent for a moment; thinking. 'Could I have… saved him?' She thought to herself. The students were still watching her. Elphaba looked at Ginny for a second. Ginny gave her a sad smile of understanding. 'She is as quick as Hermione.' Elphaba thought briefly, 'She may have just figured out how Fiyero died.'

Elphaba blinked and looked at the class sharply, "Do you all believe me, or do I need to show you a demonstration?" Her voice was more clipped than she thought it would be. Ginny seemed to be the only one brave enough to bring Elphaba's full attention to herself at that point.

"It might be helpful if we could see what you intend to teach us. Therefore, we would able to practice with some idea of what needs to happen."

"Very well, Miss Weasley will you please come to front? And, you young man," Elphaba gestured for the Slytherin boy who had spoken up before. They both came to the front. "I do not believe I know your name," she said looking at the boy.

"Justin Harper," he answered. He didn't look as confident as Malfoy, but he still had a superior air about him. Elphaba nodded and looked at the rest of the class.

"The rest of you please line up along the back wall." As they did so, Elphaba waved the cushions to the side wall where they stacked themselves neatly onto the desks and chairs. "Now, Miss Weasley and Mr. Harper, you two will work together to disarm me. In other words, you need to find a way to keep me from defending myself. You may use any means necessary to defeat me, even your wands." Ginny and Justin nodded seriously. "Go over there and come up with a plan of attack. The rest of you stay where you are. I am going to raise a shield in front of you all to protect you. Do not come through it to help me or the students. If you do, I cannot protect you. Understood?" The students nodded nervously. A shimmering shield rose in front of the students suddenly. They all looked at it and her in awe. Elphaba nodded satisfied and turned the pair off to the side. They were talking in hushed tones and each nodding at certain points. Elphaba smiled slightly, they seemed to be working quite well together despite the house rivalry. "Are you two ready?"

They both looked at her, made eye contact with each other briefly, and nodded to her together. "Very well, take up your positions." Ginny and Justin took up positions very similar to what Harry and Malfoy had done. Ginny stood to her left while Justin stood to her right. "Begin!"

"Reducto!" Ginny sent a spell flying at Elphaba who deflected easily. "Expelliarmus! Bombarda! Confringo! Diffindo!" Elphaba turned her back to Justin since she needed her full attention on Ginny as she sent spell after spell at her.

"Duro," Elphaba barely heard the whispered spell come out of Justin's mouth behind her. She threw up another shield behind her without even looking at him. "Everte Statum!" Justin said a little louder. Elphaba blocked this as well. "Expulso!" They both started throwing spells at her simultaneously. Elphaba sighed quietly, lowered her arms, and crossed them on her chest. The two students persisted in throwing spells at her, but none reached her. They didn't seem to notice she had lowered her arms. Elphaba looked at the other students. They had noticed. She couldn't hear them over the bangs of the spells, but they were pointing and talking to each other animatedly. Some looked eager, while others looked horrified.

The amount of time between spells became longer as Ginny and Justin started to run out of spells to send at her. Elphaba inched backward slowly as the spells kept rebounding off her shield. Ginny and Justin didn't seem to notice their target had moved slightly and kept firing at the same spot. Finally, Elphaba took a large step backward; taking herself and her shield out of their line of fire. The two of them sent spells at each other instead. Ginny was quick enough to bring up a shield, but Justin wasn't quick enough. Ginny's stupefy hit him in the chest and sent him flying into the stacked cushions. Everyone flinched when he made contact with the pile of furniture.

Elphaba dropped her shield and took a few steps toward the fallen boy. She glanced back at Ginny and noticed the girl was pale. She hadn't expected to hit her ally. Ginny took a few steps forward to stand just behind Elphaba.

"Justin, are you alright?" Elphaba called out. She didn't want a surprise attack to happen; she wouldn't put it past either of them. But, Ginny didn't seem much of a threat at the moment. Elphaba peered into the rubble; she saw Justin's eyes flick open and stare at Ginny with hatred in his eyes. Elphaba opened her mouth to say something to him,

"FLAGRATE!" Justin yelled furiously. Elphaba's eyes widened in surprise as red jets of light erupted from his wand and headed straight for Ginny. Elphaba threw herself in front of Ginny as the spell hit her square in the back. She heard the cloth on her back rip before pain lashed across her back. It felt like she was being whipped again. Elphaba clenched her teeth to keep from crying out. Seconds later, the instant flaming pain dulled into an almost tolerable stinging. Ginny was staring into her eyes. Her eyes were filled with surprise and a bit of fear. Elphaba stared back at her with cold eyes; she would not show the pain she felt.

Ginny's eyes snapped away to look behind Elphaba as Justin rose to his feet. Elphaba pushed Ginny away from her gently and turned to look at Justin. She made sure to turn so her back was to the front of the class. She didn't want the students to panic at the sight of her back.

"Just what were you trying to do?" Elphaba's voice was cold as she glared at the boy. The anger on Justin's face dissolved into fear in one second. He started trembling from head to toe; he couldn't break eye contact with her. He tried, but he couldn't. It was like staring a tiger in the eyes; he was frozen by fear. Elphaba continued to stare at him while he attempted to make his voice work. All he could get out was a soft whimper. "Speak up!" Elphaba barked at him.

He flinched and took a step back, "I…" He gulped audibly, "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"You meant to hurt your comrade! You have no excuse. One-hundred points from Slytherin for attacking a fellow student." This comment seemed to flip a switch in Justin's brain. Color returned to his cheeks as his eyes hardened a little.

"I didn't even hit her! That's not fair!" He replied hotly.

"No, you hit me." Her flat tone forced the blood out of his face again. "Instead of scarring her; you have scarred me." If he wasn't pale before, he was as white as a ghost then. Elphaba glared at him for a few more seconds. "Get out of my sight." Justin flinched, but didn't move right away, "NOW!" He bolted out the door without looking back. Elphaba stared at the wall in front of her. "Everyone, we will have a ten minute break. Please be back here after ten minutes." Her eyes snapped to the rest of the students. "Out!" All of them clambered out the door.

Elphaba turned to walk to her desk, but stopped. Ginny still stood in front of her; staring. "This break includes you, Miss Weasley." She moved to step around the girl, but Ginny stepped into her path.

"Professor, let me help you." Elphaba stared at her.

"Do you know how to heal wounds?" Ginny lowered her head as she realized she didn't. "I thought not. Then you are unable to help me. Go join your friends."

"I could go get Madame Pomfrey," Ginny suggested.

"No…"

"Please, those wounds are deeper than you think. They will scar…"

"I already have scars on my body; a few more will not kill me."

Ginny paled at that statement; she looked down at her shoes thinking, "I could go get Harry." Ginny raised her eyes to meet Elphaba's. Elphaba's expression softened a little.

"Harry is most likely in class. Besides, I am sure there is not much he could do anyway."

"But, he took care of you before. He could…"

"Ginny…. No."

"Is there anything I can do to help? Please…"

Elphaba thought for a few seconds. "Repair my dress."

"…What?"

"Repair my dress so no one can see the wounds. That is what you can do to help me right now." Elphaba waited for Ginny to nod before she turned her back to Ginny. She heard Ginny gasp at the sight, but ignored it.

"Reparo," Ginny's voice sounded behind her. Elphaba felt the dress stitch itself over the fresh wounds.

"Thank you," Elphaba said without turning around, "Now, please give me a few moments alone." Elphaba heard Ginny walk out of the classroom and close the door. As soon as the door clicked shut, Elphaba relaxed her tense shoulders and sagged a little. She regretted it. The repaired cloth rubbed against her wounds. Elphaba let out a breath of pain as she reached around to her back. The pain was almost unbearable. The stinging wouldn't stop and every time she moved the pain increased. Elphaba stumbled to her chair and sat down heavily. Looking at her clock, she realized there was only one minute left of the break. She wouldn't have any time to compose herself enough to be able to walk around the room. Elphaba sat in her chair and took a few deep breaths. The pain was still there, but she forced herself not to think about it.

At that moment, the classroom door opened slowly and Ginny stuck her head in. "Uh, break is over. Should we…"

"Come in," Elphaba finished for her. The students filed in and sat down on the cushions Elphaba had brought back from the side of the classroom. "Now, we have about ten minutes left of class. Can anyone tell me why my type of magic is so useful?"

"We couldn't get anywhere near you. You had the complete advantage. If we could fight like that, You-Know-Who wouldn't stand a chance." Ginny said from her seat. Elphaba opened her mouth to comment, but,

"Don't tell me you believe Potter and his spiel about You-Know-Who being back," a skeptical Gryffindor boy said from the back of the class.

"Yeah, I do. He happens to be one of my best friends."

"So, just because he is your friend, you believe him. Lame!" Ginny opened her mouth to retort.

"We are not here to debate about Voldemort's return." Elphaba said from her desk. Many of the students flinched when she said his name while others stared in shock. "Whether you believe he is back or not, this class will still be beneficial to all of you. Someday, you may have to defend yourselves without the use of your wand, and that is what I will teach you this year. Understood? I do not care if you believe danger is right around the corner or if there is no danger at all. You all will still learn." The bell rang suddenly. The students started to get up. "SIT!" The students froze. "On Thursday, I will start to teach you how to notice the magic in and around you, and I will inform you of what the final exam will consist of; dismissed." The fourth year Slytherins and Gryffindors bolted out the door.

Elphaba took a deep, calming breath, but stopped when the cloth on her back rubbed uncomfortably. Minutes later the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff fourth year students filed in and sat down quietly. Elphaba figured she could handle this group the same way she had handled the fifth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.

"Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of wandless magic...?"

An hour later, the last of the overzealous fourth year students left her classroom. Elphaba stood slowly bracing herself on the desk. A few breaths later, she walked out of the door, locked it, and headed to the Great Hall. Halfway to the Great Hall, quickened footsteps came up behind her. Elphaba turned and was slightly surprised to see the Weasley twins coming up behind her. One put his arm around her shoulders and the other put his arm around her waist, but they kept walking. Between the two of them, she was practically carried into an empty classroom. Once there, they simultaneously lifted her onto a desk to face them. Her back stung terribly.

"Professor, we heard you got in to a fight…"

"You sure are light…"

"With Harry and Malfoy."

"Don't you eat?"

"How did it go? Who won?"

"Mum would have a fit if she saw you in this state."

"Did you put Malfoy in his place?"

"I heard Harry tackled you, are you alright?"

"Stupid git."

"He's stronger than he looks…"

"How has your day been?" They suddenly asked together and peered at her expectantly.

Elphaba had a hard time following the two conversations. Her head was reeling confusedly until the last question; she blinked twice. "My day has been fine. And yours?"

"Oh, we just had Transfiguration with McGonagall, Potions with Snape, Charms with Flitwick, and Herbology with Sprout. After lunch we have Defense Against the Dark Arts with that ninny, and Astronomy with Sinistra."

"I see." For the life of her, Elphaba couldn't figure out the reason they had pulled her into an unused classroom. What did they want? "What do you want?" She asked point blank.

"Want?" one said.

"We don't want anything. Except…"

"Perhaps…"

"Your friendship." They said together again. Elphaba found their twin connection and timing was amazing.

"You're already friends with Harry, and we are friends with Harry too."

"Practically family, really."

"Mum will already think of you as family, once she hears about you and Harry."

"She'll virtually adopt you as her daughter."

"She's nice like that. So, how about it?"

"Friends?" They held out their hands to shake hers. Elphaba looked between the two of them. They seemed genuine in their offer, and she couldn't really ignore them at this rate. She had a feeling that if she refused they wouldn't leave her alone anyway. Finally, she smiled a little and crossed her owns arms to shake their hands. They grinned identical grins and pulled her off the desk. Wrapping their arms around her again, the three of them made their way to the Great Hall. Elphaba ignored the stinging in her back. Before they reached the doors, just like Harry, they let go and bounded into the Hall. She walked in seconds after them to watch them plop down next to Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville and start talking animatedly.

She took her seat at the Professors' table. "I swear those two run on sugar alone." Elphaba looked to the side to see Snape watching the twins. She nodded stiffly. "What's wrong?" Elphaba looked at the man next to her. Snape was watching her with sharp eyes. She kept eye contact with him.

"I am fine," she answered as stiffly as her posture.

"I don't believe you."

"That is too bad." They were locked into a stalemate.

"Wonder what's wrong with those two?" Ron said from his seat. Harry and Hermione followed his gaze to the two teachers staring at each other.

"One has probably insulted the other somehow," one of the twins mentioned.

"That wouldn't be surprising," Hermione stated, "the two of them seem to be competing to see who can be snarkier." At that moment, Ginny ran up to the group.

"Harry," she said breathlessly, "Professor Thropp…" she paused as she tried to get her breath.

Harry tensed, "What?"

"Hurt…" was all Ginny got out before Harry shot to his feet. However, before he got one step toward Elphaba, Ginny grabbed his shoulders and forced him back into his seat. "She doesn't want anyone to know. I offered to come get you when she got hurt, but she said not to."

"What happened?" The group leaned in conspiratorially.

"Professor Thropp decided to demonstrate what she could do. She had me and a Slytherin boy fight her. It was going well…if well means she was kicking our butts. After a while, she did something that made my spell hit Harper, and he went flying backwards. He rammed into the desks and chairs on the other side of the room and didn't get up right away. Professor Thropp asked if he was okay. For some reason, she didn't go over to him right away but stayed close to me. Next thing I knew, I heard Harper yell 'Flagrate' and point his wand at me. I was so shocked I couldn't move, but Professor Thropp threw herself in front of me to protect me from the spell. Her back got cut up instead of my face.

"After that she had all of us leave for a ten minute break, but everyone knew it was just to be able to do something about the injuries she got. As soon as everyone left, I asked if I could help her and she told me to sew up the back of her dress so no one could see the wounds. She taught the rest of class, and I am assuming the next class as well. And, now she is sitting there… Staring at us."

All six of the students whipped their heads around to see Elphaba's eyes trained on them like lasers. Five of the six broke eye contact immediately, but Harry kept staring at her. He watched Elphaba's right eyebrow lift a fraction challengingly.

"She reminds me so much of Snape it's scary," Ron commented to Harry's right. Harry gritted his teeth and stood up. As calmly as possible, he walked to the professors' table and stopped in front of Elphaba.

She looked at him with an expressionless face, "Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Professor, could I come to your office hours?" Elphaba considered saying no, but Harry continued too quickly. "Just for a few minutes; I want to ask you about the technique you taught us today in class." Elphaba stared at him for a few seconds.

'No doubt he just learned about my mishap in Ginny's class,' Elphaba thought wryly. She sighed slightly, "Fine, what time do you plan on coming?"

"I was hoping two-fifteen would be okay."

Elphaba just stared at him. She couldn't refuse him; for one, there were witnesses here that would be appalled at her refusal and two, Harry would most likely come even if she said no. "That time is fine. I will see you then."

"Okay. Thanks Professor." Harry gave her an almost mocking grin and walked off. Elphaba glared at his back. She suddenly had the overwhelming urge to get up and start pacing out of sheer frustration.

"I wonder why he is coming to your office on the first day…" Snape said to her suddenly.

"None of your damn business," Elphaba answered in a sharp, quiet tone.

"None of my damn business? I'll have you know, if you were one of my students…"

"Well, I am not one of your students; I am your colleague. And, I am entitled to my privacy."

Snape stared at her with fathomless eyes, "Since when did your English improve so much?"

"It was a combination of the translation charm Harry made for me and the fact that I read all of the textbooks he had in his possession at the time."

"I see. Have you been to the library yet?"

"No. I have not had the time. Plus, I have no idea where it is."

"Well then after lunch, may I show you there? I have a feeling that you would enjoy it."

Elphaba inwardly sighed in relief. 'Subject officially changed.' "I would like that, thank you."

"It has books on just about any subject you can think of. It even has books on different kinds of healing salves. Considering the fact you have quite a few cuts on your back, you might find those books quite useful."

Elphaba stared at Snape in shock. "How did you…"

"I had the Gryffindor and Slytherin fourth-years right after you had them. They were quite animated after your inspiring act of courage. And, Mr. Harper was, and still is, being shunned." At this, Snape nodded toward the two students' tables. Elphaba looked to see most of the Gryffindors and some of the Slytherins glaring at Harper angrily. At that moment, Justin Harper chose to look at Elphaba. He froze when he realized she was staring right back at him. She felt a slight amount of pity for the boy. Elphaba knew too well what it was like to be shunned. Somehow, she wanted to diffuse the situation, but couldn't think of any way to do that.

"Don't try to help him. He got himself into this situation when he lost his temper. You did the right thing by protecting Miss Weasley," Snape whispered to her. Elphaba turned to say that not doing anything would spell disaster for his mental health, but she didn't get that far.

"You two aren't bickering again are you?" Madame Pomfrey sat down next to Elphaba and looked at the two of them with a disapproving look.

"No, I was merely informing Elphaba to _not_ help Mr. Harper out of the situation he himself got into." Snape replied calmly.

"Yes, I heard about that." Elphaba whipped her head around to look at a rather irate nurse, "A few rather frantic fourth-year students ran into the Infirmary after their class with you and told me the whole story."

"News certainly travels fast here," Elphaba commented sarcastically.

"Is that why they were late…" Snape said bluntly.

"Why didn't you come to me immediately," the nurse said with a frown.

"I had another class," Elphaba answered quickly as she shrugged. Immediately, she flinched from the pain caused by the shrug. Hoping Madame Pomfrey hadn't noticed she turned to face the students as Dumbledore finally stood.

"I hope everyone has had a good morning. Classes will begin again in thirty minutes." Dumbledore sat back down as food appeared on the tables.

"That is not a good reason," Madame Pomfrey whispered to Elphaba. "After lunch you will come with me to the Infirmary and I'll get you squared away."

"You do not have to do that. I do not want to be a nuisance…"

"It is my job to help those who are sick or injured…"

"That just means you _have_ to help…"

"I _want_ to help. You don't have a choice anyway; I'll drag you there myself if I have to." Pursing her lips, Elphaba turned away and didn't answer. She heard the older woman sigh beside her and stand up. Elphaba didn't look at her. "I'll be right back; I have to talk to Minerva. Elphaba, Severus, eat something." As soon as Madame Pomfrey was out of earshot, Elphaba turned to Snape,

"What do I say when she sees the rest of my scars?" she asked him frantically.

"Ah, I had forgotten about those."

"How convenient," Elphaba retorted sarcastically. Snape raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is this how you act when you are frustrated and desperate?" he asked rhetorically. "I really had forgotten about them…"

"I do not see how. You did see me…" Elphaba stopped herself.

"You're right. How could I forget _that_?" Elphaba felt her face grow hot as she blushed. "You did seem rather embarrassed." He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. She looked away quickly. "Just to let you know… It really isn't my place, but I think you are quite beautiful."

Elphaba sat rigid in her chair. Her hands were clenched into tight fists on her lap. "Thank you," she forced out through her teeth. She certainly hadn't expected him to compliment her in such a way. She wasn't even sure if she was angry or substituting anger for another feeling she couldn't name.

"To answer your question. If she asks, you should tell her the truth." Snape answered quietly; his voice sounded gentle. Elphaba dared to glance at him. He had sadness and pity in his eyes.

"If I tell her everything, she will probably send me to St. Mungo's in a straight jacket."

"Then don't tell her the crazy parts."

"That is easier said than done. Not telling her the crazy parts would leave many blanks in the story."

"Even I don't know your whole story, and I trust you. I do believe the only person who knows what really happened is Potter. Elphaba, I trust Poppy as much as I trust you, Minerva, and Dumbledore." He leaned in close to her. "You can trust her with your secrets."

After lunch, an unwilling Elphaba was led to the Infirmary. She would have liked to think no one noticed the pair of them, but that would have been a lie. Many of the students noticed the two passing, so they came to the conclusion that Professor Thropp was more hurt than she let on. That depressing train of thought didn't keep her from glaring at any student that dared look at her for too long.

Pomfrey led her to a rather large, bright room with white-sheeted beds lining the walls. Elphaba tensed up as soon as she entered the room. She hated doctors. They always looked at her with scorn and repulsion. Her green skin disgusted them, and had them convinced that she was diseased. Some doctors even refused to touch her, once they had laid eyes on her. That was all very well for her at the time, she didn't want to be poked and prodded by them anyway. But, this time it was different.

Before, she didn't really care about what the doctors thought of her, but she cared what Madame Pomfrey thought. Not knowing why, Elphaba actually cared whether Madame Pomfrey would look at her with the same hatred and revulsion as the other doctors.

"Elphaba…Elphaba," Pomfrey waved her hand in front of Elphaba's face. "You are as rigid as a corpse. Are you alright?" Elphaba nodded jerkily, but didn't say anything. Her mouth was dry all of a sudden. "Well, let's get started. Come over here, and put this on." Pomfrey led her to a bed close to her office and handed her a hospital gown. "Will you need any help?" Elphaba shook her head as Pomfrey closed the bedside curtain to give her privacy. "Tell me when you are done." Her footsteps sounded as she walks toward her office.

Elphaba stared at the thin fabric in her hands. It was a simple white gown with thin black stripes running down the length of it. It tied at two sections in the back, but other than that, the back was open. Elphaba let the gown fall open, and to her great relief, a pair of pants made of the same fabric fell to the floor. Finally able to breathe a little bit, Elphaba undressed and pulled the pants on, and then the thigh length gown. As she reached around to tie the back of the gown, Madame Pomfrey called out from her office.

"Leave the gown untied, please." Elphaba dropped her arms to her side and took a few steadying breaths. Her stomach twisted itself into knots as she tried a couple times to make her voice work without trembling.

"I am ready," Elphaba was relieved to hear her voice come out firm if not a little quiet. Madame Pomfrey's footsteps approached the bed. Elphaba watched her silhouette grab for a cart and push it to the bed. Pomfrey tugged the curtain back and pulled a metal cart loaded with bottles, needles, and thread to the bedside. Elphaba stared in consternation at the needles.

"Will you be using those?" Elphaba gestured to the needles with a nod of her head, since she had unconsciously crossed her arms over her chest. Madame Pomfrey stood in front of her, but didn't move to touch her. She knew the signals of anxiety when they happened.

"I don't know," Pomfrey answered calmly, she was reminded of a skittish deer when she looked at Elphaba at that moment. "I haven't seen your back yet, so I can't be sure. If you let me see, then I can answer your question. If I do need to stitch up the wounds," Pomfrey watched as Elphaba became even tenser. "Then I will have you take a sleeping potion, so you won't feel the needle." Despite the reassurance, Elphaba didn't relax.

Madame Pomfrey resisted sighing in disappointment and gestured to the bed instead. "Lay down on your stomach so I can see." Elphaba uncrossed her arms hesitantly, climbed onto the bed, and laid down. She turned her face away from the nurse and stared at the closed curtain.

Pomfrey had stood unmoving for a few seconds after Elphaba had lain down. She had expected the lacerations to be deeper than what a simple flogging spell would give, but she had not expected the multitude of other long scars criss-crossing the young woman's back. Her eyes followed the scars around her shoulders and sides and down below the waist-line of the pants.

'Where did all of these scars come from?' she wondered. She had been troubled by Elphaba's lack of trust, but now she could see to some extent why the green woman had trust issues. Pomfrey waved her wand silently for a paper and pen to appear in mid-air next to her. She muttered a spell and waved it over Elphaba's still form. Immediately, the pen started writing and Pomfrey turned to the cart. She grabbed a warm, damp towel.

"I am going to clean the wounds before I decide whether I need to stitch them, alright?" Elphaba nodded silently and seemed to attempt to relax, but didn't have much luck. The nurse bent over her back and started rubbing at the dried blood and edges of the wounds. Elphaba jumped slightly when the cloth first touched her, but lay still again as Pomfrey continued to clean her back as if she hadn't noticed the flinch. After cleaning off the dried blood, the older woman took up another damp cloth soaked in antiseptic solution. "This will sting a little."

Five minutes later, the nurse gently laid her hands on Elphaba's back and examined the wounds. "These wounds will need stitches." She said quietly, so as not to startle the girl, "I want them to heal correctly; stitching them up will be helpful." Elphaba nodded slightly. She had relaxed a little during the last five minutes, Pomfrey pleasingly noted. She glanced at the paper and pen suspended in mid-air. The pen was still writing.

Pomfrey grabbed a vial and took the top off of it. "Here, drink this. It is sleeping potion that will put you to sleep for a good two hours." Elphaba didn't take it right away.

"Mr. Potter wanted to come to my office hours. If I take that potion, I will not be awake to talk to him." The nurse looked at her calmly.

"Well," she said, "you can either take the potion and skip the meeting, or you can bear the pain and be in time to talk to Mr. Potter. Which would you prefer?"

"Is there nothing to ease the pain?" Elphaba asked slightly anxious.

"There is a pain reducer potion, but it is mainly used for headaches and other aches. It is not usually used for… sharp pain, such as needles." Elphaba glanced away from the nurse's eyes. Pomfrey took that free moment to look at the paper. The pen had finally stopped writing. "I'll give you a few moments to decide." Pomfrey stood and grabbed the paper out of the air and started reading. She had cast a spell to take a log of any sort of physical trauma Elphaba had sustained since she was born. After reading less than one-third of the list, Pomfrey had to strain to keep from trembling out of rage. Abuse and neglect was the main theme of the young woman's childhood. As she had become a teenager, the mistreatment reached an extreme and malnutrition became more pronounced. Finally, a little over two weeks prior, she had been beaten, flogged, the bottoms of her feet had acquired small cuts, bruises and scratches adorned any of her exposed skin, her ribs had been broken and crushed somehow, and finally a rib had poked through her right side after that. Pomfrey glanced at the shy, quiet girl on the bed. 'What had she done to deserve all of this?' Madame Pomfrey lowered the paper onto the cart and looked down at the girl.

Elphaba noticed the nurse looking at her. "I suppose I would like to stay awake. I want to know what Mr. Potter has to say about my class." Elphaba wondered at the strange look Madame Pomfrey was giving her. Was it compassion or sadness? "What is it?"

"I think you had better take the potion instead." Madame Pomfrey insisted gently.

Elphaba looked at the woman for a few seconds wondering. "Why?" she finally asked.

"Judging by the list I just read," The nurse gestured to the paper, "you've already been through quite enough pain." Elphaba focused her eyes on the paper, unable to withstand the other woman's pitying look. She sat up on the bed and called the paper to her hands. Reading through the list, Elphaba was reminded unpleasantly of everything that had happened to her until recently. Some of the things she had not even remembered until then.

Tears sprung to her eyes as bitter-tasting bile suddenly rose up her throat and she clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from getting sick on the bed. The contents of her stomach ended up on her lap anyway. Madame Pomfrey was by her side in a flash; Elphaba had started having dry heaves immediately. Elphaba felt the older woman hug her shoulders and comfort her as her stomach convulsed over and over again. Tears were streaking down her cheeks due to the burning in her mouth, throat, and chest, and the sudden psychological turmoil she had just experienced. After a minute, the dry heaves ended and Elphaba tried to get her breathing under control.

"Relax, Elphaba. Let your body take care of itself. Your breathing will get better in a few minutes; don't force it." Pomfrey was still holding her steady even after her breathing had returned to normal. They sat like that for a few more minutes.

"Sorry," Elphaba choked out eventually. She felt thoroughly embarrassed, but was not adverse to the older woman's arms around her. The bile smelled terrible and was staining the sheets that were so clean before. "Sorry," she said again.

"Hush. There is nothing to be sorry about." Madame Pomfrey waved her wand and banished the rancid liquid into nothingness. "There…good as new." The nurse smiled kindly at Elphaba, but Elphaba refused to meet her eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked after a few more minutes of silence.

Elphaba was silent for a time, considering it. Having someone else know her past was tempting, but dangerous. The less people knew about her, the easier time she would have of keeping history from repeating itself. She was still shunned by some, but most others had accepted her peculiarity and moved on. That had never happened in Oz. Harry already knew about her past in detail, but he was the only one. However, even though Elphaba thought of Harry as a little brother and confidant, she couldn't talk to him about everything. Perhaps having an experienced confidante would be helpful in the future. She was quiet for some time.

"If you don't want to tell me, you can talk to someone else. I would recommend Minerva or Pomona. Seeing as they and I are women, you might have an easier time talking to one of us. However, there is one person here who I know went through similar treatment as a child and adolescent." Elphaba finally raised her eyes to the other's eyes. "Severus Snape."

Elphaba stared at her slightly trembling hands, thinking. "I think… I would rather talk to you than anyone else. If I am going to explain my life, you may as well know the whole truth. Just to warn you, at times you will think I am completely crazy. But, Severus Snape said I could trust you with my secrets and that he trusted you with his life. Even he does not know my full story. There is only one person who knows what happened to me, and I feel that I cannot confide in him about everything." She trailed off uncertainly.

"May I ask who this person is?"

"Harry Potter," Elphaba didn't see Madame Pomfrey smile kindly at her.

"Is that why he went missing for two weeks? The timing would be perfect. So, he took care of you for two weeks while he hid from the wizarding world?" Elphaba nodded. "Thank goodness he was with you. You could protect him as much as he could protect you. I take it he learned a few things about the female body while he was with you." Elphaba snapped her eyes up to the nurse's, but looked away just as quickly when she blushed. "I'm sure neither of you had much of an option. And, even though Potter has a good heart and would do anything to help a person in need, he would have no idea how to mend broken ribs…"

"He did not. Luckily, Snape was there to help, or I do not think I would have made it."

"You wouldn't have," Pomfrey stated sadly. "Well, I will send a letter to Potter stating why you can't meet him, and then I will sew up those cuts. After that, we'll talk. If supper time comes around, we'll go to the Great Hall to eat so you can make an appearance. Finally, if there is more to your story, we'll continue after supper. Understood?" The nurse's voice was kind, but stern. Now that Elphaba said she would tell her story, there was no way she would get out of it. Elphaba nodded once more and started to lie back down. "Wait a moment. Drink this." Pomfrey handed her a cup full of bright blue liquid. "It is the sleeping potion." Elphaba drank the bland potion and lay down. Within seconds, she felt her eyes get heavy and then there was nothing but black.

Translations:

Nani o shiteru, Harii-san?" – What are you doing, Harry?

BAKA! Harii-san, nani o hanashita?! Nani?!" – Idiot, Harry. What did you say? What?

Otouto – little brother


End file.
